Blades Together
by Kelaros
Summary: This is a story, essentially an alternate version of Soul Calibur 2, of Siegfried's struggle to contain Soul Edge's desire for destruction, and of the help he receives from the only person willing to lend it: Sophitia Alexandra. SiegfriedxSophitia
1. A Demon Surfaces

Obviously I don't own any of these characters. Nor will I be introducing any new characters in this story.

I plan to make this an action/adventure/romance story, revolving around two main characters - Siegfried and Sophitia. If you like the other characters more, well sorry, but I'm not going to write much about them. The romance will be very prominent, and will be the main focus of the story (aside from, of course, the obvious plot of breaking Siegfried away from Soul Edge), but I also enjoy a good fight, so I'll probably be writing in lots of fight scenes.

This story begins after Soul Calibur but before Soul Calibur 2 - it could be said that this story is a "remake" of Soul Calibur 2.

The time period for this story will be 1550 or so AD; I'm not sure if actual dates are mentioned anywhere in Soul Calibur but 1550 seems to be around the time that the game occurred according to the events in the story.

One more thing: If I haven't included a two-handed mace by the last 25 percent of the story, someone please remind me to.

And now, kind readers, good luck.. and good journey.

(this is my first fanfic, so tread lightly, and carry a humongous branch that can double as a club or bludgeoning instrument of some kind, as long as you're over 18, which you should be, because one chapter of this fanfic will be rated R and will contain sex - sorry you lemon-lovers, you're gonna have to wait for it, romance comes first. The majority of the story (90 percent) is pg-13, although there is some violence (esp. in chapter 3, most of the violence after that is in regards to slaying demons rather than people). I'll be very clear when I write the mature chapter that it's the chapter that's R and not pg-13.)

The story up to this point:

Soul Blade occurs as normal. Soul Calibur begins – Sophitia goes to find Soul Edge, searches for 2 years (I am assuming that she knows/finds out that Siegfried is Nightmare) and then senses that Soul Edge has been defeated (yes, I'm having Soul Calibur occur 2 years after Soul Blade instead of 4 years). This story begins 2 years after that, so it has been 4 years since the end of Soul Blade, and it has been 2 years since Sophitia last fought. Also, Nightmare still has the entire Soul Edge, despite the events at the end of Soul Calibur. This is part of the plotline of the fic so I won't explain how or why just yet. Also I am giving Sophitia's family a small farm to complement the baking her father does - the idea is that they grown their own grain and such, and sell other foods such as cheese along with the bread. I felt this gave Sophitia more of a country-feel.

Thus begins the tale..

Sophitia sighed softly to herself as she set two milk buckets down next to the cow stalls belonging to her family's quaint, relatively small Greek farm. Kneeling down to begin the rough, unromantic but necessary work of extracting milk from the cows' udders, she felt a wave of relief as a shout from her younger sister carried along a light breeze to rest upon her exposed ears.

Standing and brushing her work skirt off lightly, Sophitia yelled back, "Yes,

Cassandra?" and took the opportunity to exit the dank-smelling, hay-filled barn.

Cassandra, standing at the foot of the family home, noticed Sophitia immediately as she appeared from the gaping entrance to the animal stalls. "So there you are!

Come on, it's time to eat, and you won't believe what I heard at the Foaming Steer today!" And with that, Cassandra headed into the doorway, waving her sister in behind her. As Sophitia stepped up the front steps, the pleasant aroma of newly-baked bread and aged cheese wafted from the entrance to the house, reminding her of the simple pleasures of farm life. Sure enough, a table of home-cooked goodies was laid out in their dining chamber, carefully prepared by Sophitia's soft-spoken, but strong-willed mother.

"What were you doing at the Foaming Steer anyway, Cassy?" Sophitia questioned suspiciously, "We all know how disreputable that place is.."

Cassandra, looking surprised and slightly embarrassed, waved her hand several times, "Never mind that, never mind that. It's just good for the gossip." and took her seat at the table, receiving dark glances from both her mother and father. Sophitia's mother recited a respectful prayer to Athena, and Sophitia managed to snag the best piece of bread with a smirk before her sister could get her hands on it.

"So, why isn't Rothion joining us for supper today?" Sophitia's mother asked with interest.

"Rothion had a lot of work to finish, you know how busy he is with his

smithing - everyone wants horseshoes and hammers from him these days," Sophitia replied coolly.

"Oh, yes, I have heard he's doing a magnificent job. He will make an excellent husband."

To this, Sophitia did not respond, simply sliced a corner off of a potato and placed it carefully into her mouth. Cassandra seemed antsy today, more antsy than usual, and Sophitia decided it was high time she spilled whatever it was she was holding in, "What were you talking about before, Cassandra? You said you heard something in.. in town?"

"Oh, right, well, I heard somebody say, get this.." Cassandra covered her mouth to stifle a laugh, "he said, a 'demon with a terrible weapon' slaughtered half of a local village the other day, can you believe that?" with a shake of her head, "It's like that old story you used to tell us when you ran away a few years ago." Cassandra eyed Sophitia cautiously, fearing a bout of anger, or, even worse, that cold, emotionless mask that Sophitia wore whenever she was accused of lying about her encounters with Soul Edge.

"Oh, not that again!" Sophitia's mother exclaimed, in conjunction with the shaking of her father's head and a long sigh.

Upon hearing this, Sophitia's hand, still holding her fork, immediately dropped to the table. "Wh-what did you say?" She turned her head to face Cassandra sitting next to her, sending her long hair sweeping about her shoulders.

Cassandra, seeing her sister's reaction, faltered slightly, "I uh, I heard that a d-demon with a terrible weapon murdered a group of villagers up in the mountains near Beroia.. it's just a rumor, Soph, it's not true!"

Sophitia, suddenly overtaken by a sense of horror and apprehension, felt the urgent need to find out more about this supposed rumor, "Beroia, you said?

Was the demon described in any detail? What about the weapon?"

"I don't know.. well, several of the patrons said the demon was large, wearing a mask on its face.. and it seemed to have no sense of reason or compassion.. they were all drunk, sis! It was just drunken gossip!" Cassandra tried desperately to talk some sense into her worried sister, now regretting the fact that she'd mentioned the rumors at all.

"You heard this from more than one person!" Sophitia shot to her feet, sending her fork clattering to the ground.

"Sit DOWN, Sophitia! We didn't raise a daughter so that she would run off at any mention of demons and goblins and ghosts and witches at a drunken BAR!"

Sophitia's father exclaimed, slamming his palm onto the table with a loud boom, causing the plates and ceramic-ware on the table's surface to shake and clatter briefly. Sophitia slowly sank into her chair, deciding that now was neither the time nor the place to try to combat her disbelieving family. Supper was finished in silence, and soon after, Sophitia left the company of her family to gather the necessary items from her room in secret.

Cassandra woke up with a start, hearing the familiar creak of the 3rd stair going down from the second floor of her home. 'Strange..' she thought to herself,

'Who would be moving about the house at this time of night?' Slightly worried,

Cassandra pulled on her slippers along with a coat to protect against the cold of a fast-approaching winter, and carefully crept from her bedchamber out into the hallway and towards the stairs. Noticing the flicker of a shadow in the moonlight pouring in through the hall window, Cassandra pressed herself against the wall to avoid being seen. The moment she was sure the shadow, and, more importantly, the person it belonged to, had moved on, she quickly moved down the stairway, skipping the 3rd stair to avert making the same mistake that had caused her abrupt awakening.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Cassandra turned a quick right, making her way silently towards the front door just as she heard it close with a very faint click. 'Whoever it is, I don't like people invading our house.. this guy's going to regret breaking in here' she thought to herself as she pressed against the wall near the door, peering out one of the front windows. A lone figure, shrouded by darkness, made its way across the front yard, stopping at the stables where the riding horses were kept. 'Damn him, he's trying to steal our horses!' Cassandra thought in anger, cracking the door open silently and padding across the yard towards the horse thief.

Deciding to spy in from the window as a precaution rather than simply bursting in through the front, she moved to the wall of the barn and tiptoed atop a barrel, giving her just enough height to peek in through one of the ventilation openings. The moment her eyes swept the room, she noticed two very familiar figures standing in the moonlight near Sophitia's favorite horse.

Letting out an inaudible sigh, Cassandra almost stepped down from the barrel, recognizing Sophitia and her fiance Rothion. 'I guess they wanted to be alone, but why couldn't they just do this during the day?' Cassandra thought to herself, rolling her eyes. But then, come to think of it, Cassandra couldn't remember ever actually seeing Sophitia and Rothion engaging in any act of intimacy.. not even holding hands.. her thoughts continued, 'Well, this could be interesting.. I guess just a little peek would be fine.' And Cassandra retained her position, intent on taking in the scene below.

After several moments during which Sophitia and Rothion conversed in low voices, Rothion handed Sophitia a large satchel with something inside that glinted in the moonlight. 'What the.. aren't they going to kiss.. or at least hug?' Cassandra thought to herself, confused by the strange interaction. Sophitia took the satchel and strapped it onto her favorite horse, then turned back to Rothion. 'Oh, here we go..now they'll do something interesting..' but, contrary to what Cassandra expected,

Sophitia and Rothion simply clasped hands in a friendly warrior's hand-shake. They nodded to each other, and Rothion quickly made his way out the front of the stable, while Sophitia completed the tacking of her mount and climbed onto its back. Cassandra was dumbstruck, 'What? I don't understand, they're supposed to be engaged.. what the hell is going on?' As Sophitia's mount turned towards the stable's exit, Cassandra also noticed an excellently crafted sword sheathed at Sophitia's right shoulder. 'Oh no! She's doing it again!' Cassandra jumped down from her vantage point, tripping in her haste and sending both her and the barrel sprawling across the ground. She scrambled to her feet, dashing towards the barn door and briefly slipping on some cold mud on the way, completely soiling her favorite slipper.

"Sophitia!" Cassandra hollered after her sister, who by now had managed to gallop out of the stable and a good distance down the road. "Soph! WAIT!"

Cassandra ran after her sister as fast as she could, stumbling twice on the cold dirt and rocks of the road, but Sophitia either did not hear or, for whatever reason, did not care to spare a glance behind her. Finally, as Cass watched her sister disappear around a turn in the forest surrounding the farm, she trotted to a halt, laying her hands on her knees and panting for breath. "DAMN!" Cassandra shouted, angry at her sister for running off like that again, and even more angry at herself for being the one to have caused it. Gritting her teeth, she jogged back towards her house, thoughts and worries for Sophitia slowly coming together and gathering into something that vaguely resembled a plan.

End chapter 1

Just getting them all into the mix… don't worry, I have a good plan to solve the Sophitia/Rothion thing, it'll be interesting.


	2. Pursuing the Beast

Note: Brackets [] denote thoughts  
  
After three solid days of traveling, Sophitia finally took the time to rest her treasured mount, Atheas, at a nearby stream for more than a small thirty minute stretch of time. While watching her horse gulp water from the fresh, bubbling brook, Sophitia took a long drink from her own waterskin, careful not to let any of the precious droplets spill out, for she hated to be wasteful. Leaning against a solid oak tree and crossing her legs in her usual fashion, she fell into thought about the past, present and future..  
  
[If these rumors that Cassandra mentioned are true.. if there really is a demon murdering villagers near Beroia.. could it be the Soul Edge? Does that German boy still have it? That poor, tortured soul.. while wielding that terrible sword, he could certainly be described as a demon.. and the mask, his helm? I suppose there really is no other explanation, unless the rumors are just myth..]  
  
Sighing, Sophitia stood up straight and adjusted her traveling clothes appropriately as they began to bunch up near her hip. Stretching out in a relatively non-elegant fashion, after all, who was here to see her.. she set her sword, the sword of Hephaestus that Rothion had forged for her, in a comfortable position on her back and hauled herself gracefully onto the back of Atheas, who whinnied in minor annoyance at the disrupting of his rest. Atheas reflexively began to trot forward as Sophitia's heels touched his flanks, kicking up bits of cold mud from the road with a clopping sound.  
  
[Could he have borne the burden of that sword for all these years? It must have been 3 or 4 years since I've last seen him.. I wonder how he's managed to keep it hidden for so long.. I absolutely must find him before something happens!]  
  
And with that, she kicked Atheas into a gallop, rushing down the dirt road as a drizzle of freezing rain began to cascade from the sky, covering the world in tiny droplets of cold sadness.  
  
... another 3 days pass...  
  
Having made excellent time reaching the outskirts of Beroia in less than a week when the trip should take nearly two, Sophitia still slowed for no one, tearing into the city on horseback, her mount panting with weariness and exhaustion. She reigned in Atheas at the first stabled tavern she came to, quickly tying him to a nearby post which was close enough to a water trough to give the horse easy access, and pushed open the door to the establishment.  
Almost completely overpowered by a horrendous, moldy alcoholic scent, Sophitia had to cover her mouth with her hand to avoid gagging as she stepped through the wooden doorframe, and was immediately greeted by boisterous laughing and the sound of beer mugs crashing onto hard oak tabletops. Ignoring the raucous crowd, she walked straight to the counter, forced to shove a large man out of the way who decided to try to get close to her. Just as the overly friendly oaf wiped his mouth and began to stomp back towards her, she turned to the counter and inquired loudly,  
"Has anyone heard rumors of a masked demon with a greatsword terrorizing local villages?" [It sounds so silly..] she thought to herself, [but if it IS true..]  
The entire tavern instantly went silent, but for the roll of a spinning dice as it dissipated its energy and fell to a halt on the top of a smooth wooden table. Sophitia swept her gaze across the room, but it was met by no one.  
"Come on now, obviously you've heard of it, I need to know the details." [Judging by their reactions, there has to be some substance to it..] She stood up straight, adjusting her sword in case there would be any trouble, and passed her gaze once again across the silent room. Her eyes came to rest on the bartender, who was nervously cleaning the bar with a wet rag. "Please sir, I need to know." She was quickly losing patience, and was very tired from her journey on the road, and no matter how well her parents had brought her up, she wasn't in the mood to be polite with these ruffians for much longer.  
The bartender, still not raising his eyes from the counter, finally worked up the courage to speak, "W-well, lady, it happened in the mountains west of here. Just a few weeks ago.. from what the survivors say, it was a huge demon with some kinda mask, just like ye said.. they said it was using some kinda blade.. something awful, it was tearing through people like butter.. it's just.. m- my friend, he lived up there.." the bartender lowered his eyes and stopped talking abruptly, continuing to absently wipe the counter like a zombie.  
"I understand. I'm sorry." Sophitia said, suddenly realizing why everyone was so silent - many must have lost friends and loved ones in the tragedy, which now clearly contained some truth. Without another word, she turned to walk out.  
"W-wait.. I heard he was seen to the northeast, on the way to Pella, just a few days ago.. make sure you stay the hell away from there, you hear?" the bartender called after Sophitia.  
"Thank you," she responded simply, walking out the door and shutting it lightly behind her. [There is no doubt then... it may not be a demon, but something killed those people..] She untied Atheas's reigns and quickly boosted herself into the saddle, turning him to the northeast, "I'm so sorry, Atheas, but we need to run again.." As if the poor horse could actually understand his desperate master, his head drooped down to take a final drink from the half-full water trough, and with little prompting he began to gallop northeast, carrying his master as fast as his abilities would allow.  
  
End Chapter 2 email me with comments/questions: kelaros@mail.com 


	3. A Question of Guilt

Note: Brackets [] denote thoughts Note: There is violence contained within this chapter, and part of it should be considered to be rated R  
  
Siegfried staggered through the cold rain, exhausted from days of hiking in the wilderness near Beroia. For the first time in years, he had allowed himself to come in contact with human civilization. He knew he was putting people in danger by doing so, but he just couldn't manage to keep himself away for any longer, he felt he would go insane.. well, completely insane, not just partially insane, the way he felt now. [I have to get there in time.. before it happens again..] simply placing one foot in front of the other was becoming a chore now, with his exhaustion and the muddy ground. He was freezing from the rain, which had soaked through his old, partially rusted armor and clothing to bite him to the very bone. [That's not the only force of nature biting my bones right now..] he thought to himself wryly, feeling the pull and compulsion of Soul Edge, as he had felt for the past 4 years, [but I suppose Soul Edge could hardly be considered natural....] at this thought, the sword, which had come to possess a large portion of his body as well, seemed to seethe with delight at his observation, sending shivers of pain and revulsion through the portions of his body that remained his own.  
He slowed to a halt, standing stock still in the pouring rain, letting the water cascade down his corrupted form. [Maybe I should just stop right here. If I just crawl over into the forest and lie down.. maybe no one will ever find me.] The thoughts, tempting as they were, became overridden by something more urgent.. [No, I have to meet him.. if I stop here, he'll... I have to continue..] and once again, the fallen knight began to pull one foot in front of the other, trudging towards what he hoped would be his final destination.  
After what seemed like days but was probably more like hours, the rain began to lighten, and smoke from the village could be seen wafting up above the tree line ahead. [Almost there.. this time.. this time, I'll control it.. this time...] As he neared the village, his monotonous reverie was broken by a shrill scream from what sounded like a young woman. [No... No! He's here already!!!] With a rush of new adrenaline, Siegfried began to run forward, feet sinking deep into the muddy road and sapping his energy even further as he ran. [I have to stop him! I won't let this happen again!]  
Finally the village itself came into view as Siegfried dashed past a patch of young trees and in between several outlying thatched houses. As he passed a small cottage, a terrible scene came into view. [NO! It's just like before!!!] Memories flooded into Siegfried's mind, unwanted memories, as he beheld the sight of blood and death before him. He remembered swinging, cleaving, and pain.. screams, blood, ash.. and death. Bloodied corpses lie strewn upon the ground in front of him, innocent peasants who had done nothing more than gotten in the way. He felt the sword, Soul Edge, surge with energy as it took in the sight as well, feeding from the fear, hatred, and pain of the dying. [NO! N-not ME! It's NOT ME!!] Siegfried desperately tried to reason with himself as the deadly blade overtook him, watching in horror as another peasant fell..  
To a blade that was not his. The axe came up again, sweeping a fleeing man from the ground and through the air, to collide with a house and fall in a heap. The huge, hideously masked creature who had delivered the blow turned slowly to face the now-demonic form of Nightmare standing before it, who was holding up a massive greatsword with two hands and staring from the eye sockets of a deformed helm. Seeming to recognize the possessed knight, the eyes behind the berserker's mask flared a bright yellow, and a booming voice emitted from behind the hideous facial perversion, "Ah, so you finally came. Now I can take back what is mine."  
[That is him..] Siegfried thought to himself, peering out of the eye slits of his helm at the masked berserker before him, trying to calm the burning of the muscles caused by Soul Edge's rapid possession, [He is the one killing.. NOT me, HE is killing this time.. if I can just h-hang on..NOT ME.. it's NOT ME..] during Nightmare's moment of indecision, the berserker stepped forward and with a mighty downward swing, tried to unseat the demonic knight in a single blow.  
Pulled by Soul Edge, Nightmare raised his great blade to barely parry the attack of the berserker, forcing him back a step due to sheer power. [I can't let him get the advantage now, or all these people will die..] Nightmare frantically thought to himself, pulling back his sword and delivering his own swing which flew by the berserker's face as it backed out of the way. The masked demon stepped forward with a lurch, swinging horizontally at Nightmare, who managed to throw up Soul Edge just in time to parry the attack, returning with a powerful lunge which cut into the leg of the wrathful creature.  
With a howl of pain, the berserker rushed forward, slamming into Nightmare and sending him sprawling onto his back. Nightmare rolled aside as the berserker's huge axe buried itself into the earth where his head was a half-second ago, climbing to his feet and whipping his blade up vertically to knock the howling demon off-balance. Scoring a cut with his upward swing, Nightmare pressed the attack, bringing his blade crashing down upon the masked monstrosity's upper body armor, cleaving off half of the mask and cutting apart the beast's breastplate in one fell swoop. As the berserker stumbled back, Soul Edge urged Nightmare to press forward, but Siegfried held back, trying to regain his balance and composure. [I must maintain control of the blade..] Siegfried thought, noticing the fearful, hiding villagers to either side of him, [If I don't, I'll end up doing worse than this beast..] but he could feel the spirit of Soul Edge writhe within him, slowly tightening its clutches upon his being. Every moment he held the sword in this form would make it exponentially harder to escape its terrifying designs.  
  
...  
  
Atheas, panting and weary with little time to rest between now and his departure from his beloved stables, slowed to a trot as his energy reserves neared their end. Sophitia, recognizing her mount's need of rest and nutrition, reigned in the horse just as they came in sight of a quaint, secluded village about a day to the northeast of Beroia. Slowing Atheas to a walk despite the terribly urgency she felt, Sophitia carefully made her way into the village, surveying the area for any locals she could ask for information. Strangely, eerily, she couldn't locate even one villager outside of a building. Feeling her hackles rise, Sophitia urged her mount to trot, but Atheas simply could not handle any more exertion, and stopped short. Dismounting and landing lightly upon the ground, Sophitia hurried into town, padding lightly on booted feet.  
After only a few steps, she began to hear shouts and the familiar sounds of battle from nearby. Altering her course to lead her towards the combat, she rushed through the streets, praying to Hephaestus that it was just a local celebration of some kind.  
Such was not the case, as clearly indicated by the sprays of blood and corpses strewn about the ground at her feet as Sophitia stopped short, horrified at the scene before her. Bodies of villagers, including men, women, children, elderly, and anyone who seemed to have been within range lay all about the street, dismembered and bleeding. Perhaps even more terrifying, two figures were locked in combat in the center of the devastation. [It's.. it's HIM!!!] Sophitia's mind raced as she recognized the figure of Nightmare, exchanging blows with an immense warrior holding a bloodied axe, [But.. Which one did this!?] as she noticed the terrifying countenance of the battered berserker through its half-destroyed mask.  
Torn between sides, Sophitia could do naught but stand and watch the fray as the most horrifying incident ever seen in this small village continued along its hideous course.  
  
...  
  
Black blood poured from the cut on the berserker's chest as it continued to howl in rage, seemingly oblivious to pain, slamming the butt of its axe into Nightmare's stomach. Protected by his armor, Nightmare raised a disgusting, mailed claw and delivered a powerful punch to the unmasked portion of the demon's face, wrenching its head to the side. Pulling up his greatsword in both hands, Nightmare hauled it over his head to continue the assault, swinging the great weapon down twice upon the haft of the berserker's colossal axe, sending slivers of black metal from the damaged axe spraying out to either side of the combatants.  
  
...  
  
Sophitia watched in helpless horror as the two monstrosities pounded each other with blow upon blow of their oversized weapons. [There must be some way to decide.. they couldn't both have done this?] Once again forcing herself to look out over the bloody bodies, Sophitia offered a prayer to rest their souls up to whatever gods were listening, and looked for anything that might hint at the identity of the responsible party.  
  
...  
  
Hatred and rage poured into Siegfried's soul as he was slowly consumed by the power of his weapon, causing him to briefly lose track of his location and situation as a blood frenzy almost took effect. [I have to.. retain..control.. can't let it..] Siegfried desperately reasoned with his inner being, trying to convince it to resist the temptations of the insidious Soul Edge.  
During his inner struggle, a massive knee-strike from his opponent took Nightmare by surprise, knocking him clear off the ground as well as relieving him of his ability to breath for several seconds. The shock of the attack knocked some reason back into him, and he regained a sliver of control as he staggered to his feet. Unfortunately the berserker took the opportunity to pick up a straggling, frightened villager by the throat, dangling the man before Nightmare with a sickening smile.  
"Remember how it felt... feel that way again!" The berserker boomed with a hideous smirk, squeezing the neck of the villager who struggled to no avail.  
Nightmare was unable to muster the strength of will to reply, as Soul Edge raised itself to cleave the struggling human in half. [Oh gods, I should never have come here.. someone, please help..] Siegfried thought in a panic, as he felt his body being usurped by the demonic blade.  
  
...  
  
While frantically observing her surroundings and simultaneously keeping an eye on the battle, Sophitia suddenly came to a realization, [The blood.. the black blood! Nightmare's blade has only black blood, that demon's axe has red! Then unless Nightmare was wielding the axe, it must have been...] and just then, the berserker snatched up its innocent victim, reciting a strange phrase to Nightmare while the peasant struggled helplessly in its grasp. Sophitia cursed herself for being so preoccupied with determining the culprit that she neglected to protect the citizenry, [How could I have been so stupid!? I can't believe I let them stay that close to the battle! No time to think about it now, only time to act.] but she was too far away, as Nightmare raised the terrible Soul Edge, preparing to cleave the flailing man held by the demon in half. All Sophitia could think was, [Please, don't swing! Please, stab straight, past the man! Don't hit the villager, attack straight! PLEASE!] "STAB STRAIGHT!!" She hollered at the top of her lungs as Nightmare swung his massive blade around.  
  
...  
  
"Yes, slice the worthless peasant in half, Siegfried.. just like we used to do.. " Nightmare felt the voice of Soul Edge reverberate through his mind as it became strong enough to communicate, controlling his movements, actions, his ... "STAB STRAIGHT!!" a woman's desperate voice broke through his soul, shaking the control of Soul Edge just enough to give Siegfried the power to wrench his sword to the side with all his might, against the will of the blade. The huge, terrible sword flew mere inches away from the peasant's stomach, driving deep into the abdomen of the berserker. Pain exploded inside Nightmare's mind as he ripped the sword through the gurgling form of the rapidly-dying demon, draining its awful life-force through Soul Edge and accepting it into his own deformed body.  
Siegfried struggled to maintain the tiny measure of control the woman's voice has awarded him, letting the tip of Soul Edge drag upon the ground nearby. The peasant frantically crawled out of the huge hand of the berserker's corpse, screaming in horror as black blood showered his face and hands.  
  
...  
  
[Thank the gods!] Sophitia breathed to herself as Nightmare's blade passed alongside the screaming peasant and into the thick body of the hellish berserker. She watched with horror and fascination as the black blood of the demon welled out and sprayed over the figures of both Nightmare and the captured townsman. Shaking her head to clear her mind of the terrible sight, Sophitia hurried forward to aid the injured townspeople in whatever way she could.  
Kneeling down next to a moaning young boy, Sophitia quietly tried her best to sooth the child, "Do not fear, the demon is vanquished, I will take care of you now, just lie still.." as she tore off a piece of the child's shirt and used it to bind a bleeding gash in his left arm. [These poor people.. ] and as Sophitia looked up from her medical work, she saw Nightmare standing over the body of the berserker, breathing heavily, [Despite what it may look like, if he had not gotten here, I would never have been in time.. this entire village would probably have been wiped out..] and she slowly rose to her feet, keeping careful watch of Nightmare while scanning the village for more aidable victims in her peripheral vision.  
As her eyes passed over a number of villagers who had been standing back, watching the scene from what they thought was a safe distance away, she heard a familiar voice shout, "D-Demon!! Get out of here!" Turning her gaze in the direction of the voice, Sophitia spotted the very same peasant who had been saved by Nightmare just moments earlier. He had picked up a medium-sized rock with one hand, and had finally risen to his feet after his bawling and terrified hollering earlier. "You.. you hideous beast!! Get the hell out of our town!!" He yelled again, this time showing the audacity to actually hurl his stone at Nightmare. The piece of debris bounced harmlessly from Nightmare's shoulder, invoking no visible reaction from the armored knight himself.  
[Wh-what is he doing??] Sophitia thought to herself in shock, as she watched the stone bounce from Nightmare's body. The moment the stone hit the ground, more voices erupted from the crowd, "Get the hell out of here, demon! You're just as bad as that thing! We don't want your kind here!" "Run like hell before I really get mad, you disgusting creature!" "You better get going out of here before we decide to make you leave!" and other such fearful, angry comments flew from the mouths of the locals, along with stones, dirt, and other pieces of debris. "What are you DOING?" Sophitia yelled, but her voice was inaudible over the din of the raucous crowd.  
  
...  
  
Drenched in the blood of his fallen foe, Nightmare struggled to hold on to his last vestiges of sanity as the effects of Soul Edge's life- draining washed over his being. Absently he felt something hard bounce from his shoulder, bringing back his awareness of the world around him. Shouts and more objects followed from his right side. As he turned to face the broiling crowd, each voice and each stone wrenched him further from control, and bit by bit he felt Soul Edge slipping from his grasp.  
The villagers, suddenly noticing the change in Nightmare's behavior as he turned to face them, began to back away in fear. The shouts and insults continued, but were now instilled with a hint of panic as Nightmare took a stride forward. Finally, as a particularly large stone hit Nightmare square in the forehead, Soul Edge broke away from Siegfried's will, lurching forward in a burst of speed and power.  
Soul Edge descended upon the man who Nightmare had rescued just moments ago, and in an instant, the rescue was for naught. The fearful peasant only had a brief second to display a look of incomprehensible terror on his face as his body was cleaved in half with a great stroke of Nightmare's demonic blade. Continuing with his horrific onslaught, Nightmare swept his sword to each side, scything down the townsfolk like wheat in an autumn harvest. Soul Edge cackled with glee as each peasant fell to the ground in death, while Siegfried silently, sorrowfully wept, trapped within a prison of terrible effectiveness - his own mind.  
  
...  
  
Sophitia felt the world swirl around her in madness as Nightmare lurched towards the townspeople, cleaving them down as if they were nothing but tiny tree saplings. [No... stop it..] "NO!! STOP!!" She shouted at the top of her lungs, taking off towards Nightmare in a sprint while instinctively reaching for the blade on her back. She bounded over the fresh corpse of an old woman, trying her best not to look down as she passed, knowing there was nothing she could do now but stop Nightmare as soon as possible. "STOP IT NOW!! PLEASE!" Her voice blended into a high- pitched scream as she hollered the last word, desperately seeking to revert Nightmare to his former self before she reached him and would be forced to do battle.  
  
...  
  
[That voice.. there it is again] Siegfried felt the thoughts pass over his detached mind as his body slaughtered every living thing within reach. [It's telling me to.. telling me to...] He looked down, and saw fresh human blood spread across his chest and arms, saw the corpses of the dead lying about him in a half-circle of violent retribution.  
The familiar voice from earlier rang clearly through the air, "..IT NOW!! PLEASE!" [That's it.. I should.. stop.. should.. .. r-run... RUN RUN RUN!] He urged his body with all of his will, to the part of him furthest from the wicked blade - his legs began to move, seemingly of their own will, separate from the terrifying swings of Soul Edge. Faster and faster, his legs moved, pumping, running him away from town, away from the death, from the terror he was causing. Soul Edge screamed in frustration as Nightmare fled from the scene of his crimes, delving deep into the nearby forest, throwing trees and bushes aside with ease.  
Finally collapsing near a streambed, Nightmare clawed and pulled his way to the edge of the water. [Maybe if I can just hide myself here, no one will ever find me again..] Siegfried thought to himself, trying to pull close enough to allow his armored head to dip under the cold, bubbling water. Just as the tip of his forehead touched the rushing brook, Nightmare's last bit of energy faded to nothingness, and his body relaxed on the ground as he lost consciousness.  
  
...  
  
Sophitia raced out of the village, following Nightmare into the dark forest beyond the small town's boundaries. She rubbed the back of her hand across her eyes, trying unsuccessfully to wipe away the tears that poured down her cheeks as she thought of what had just happened. [Those poor, ignorant villagers.. he would have been fine if they had just kept quiet.. now I'm going to have to.. have to..]  
Twigs and branches scratched at her face and upper body, scraping across her clothes and armor as she batted them aside with a free hand. Twice she lost her footing on loose rocks, brushing her leg against a sharp tree branch which left a nasty gash near her left knee.  
Finally, Sophitia pushed aside a fresh sapling along with its net of water-filled leaves, coming upon a clear, rocky stream. Stopping in her tracks, Sophitia gazed upon the ground near the stream as the small droplets from the sapling lightly showered the muddy ground. Before her lay the prone, heavily armored body of Nightmare, covered with blood and dirt, face nearly submerged beneath the flowing waters of the mountain stream.  
Sophitia stared at Nightmare for a long moment, watching a portion of hair that had escaped his helm swish back and forth in clear stream. [His hair is almost the same color as my own] she chuckled silently, catching herself shortly as the reality of her situation returned to the forefront of her mind.  
At that time, some may have seen a golden opportunity. Just a push, and Nightmare would be eradicated forever, destroyed beneath the clear waters of a stream in the mountains of Greece. More than a few may have made the choice to eliminate Nightmare; almost all would have heavily weighed the option.  
[That water must be cold] Sophitia thought to herself as her mind wandered from Siegfried's hair to the water carrying it. Lifting him under the arm, Sophitia carefully hauled the unconscious knight out of the water to a comfortable patch of grass on shore, shuddering as her eyes passed over Soul Edge's hideously throbbing form. [He's different than I remember..] she thought to herself idly, checking him visually for wounds. [He looks more... tired. Older, and weary] As she removed his helmet, his unconscious face became visible, looking gentle and peaceful. [This poor boy, caught by Soul Edge's monstrous desires..] Sophitia gazed thoughtfully at Siegfried's countenance, losing herself in questions of the past.. where has he been? who has he... killed?  
As she sat on her legs beside Siegfried, watching over him, blood from the gash on her left leg trickled down to touch with the ground mere centimeters from the tip of Soul Edge. The demonic sword surged in glee, reaching towards the sweet, pure blood that it could smell such a small distance away..  
  
...  
  
Siegfried floated in a void of sub-sanity, struggling with his own failures and Soul Edge's maddening laughter. [I've done it again] He thought to himself coldly, [I slaughtered again. If those damned people hadn't..] his thoughts turned to chaos as Soul Edge's intense laughter reverberated throughout his mind. Suddenly the laughter ceased, and Soul Edge's attention seemed to focus on some other, external source.  
[What has it found!?] Siegfried pondered in a panic, racing to regain control of his body. With Soul Edge's focus shifted, he was able to wrench back part of his wretched form, forcing his eyes open and his mind back to consciousness. His weary eyes widened in shock at the somehow familiar female form he saw sitting next to him.. and the blood on the ground nearby.  
With a mighty heave, he hauled Soul Edge backwards with all of his earthly will, pulling it away from the small droplets of blood on the ground and ramming in into a nearby tree while he still held control of his own senses, hoping to buy the woman some time to escape.  
"RUN!! NOW!!!" He hollered as loud as he could, feeling Soul Edge's insidious grasp begin to take him as the blood focused in view.  
  
...  
  
Sophitia shot to her feet in surprise as Siegfried's eyes suddenly flew open. Climbing to his feet and hauling the massive Soul Edge around in the very same motion, Siegfried embedded the sword in a the trunk of a nearby tree, shouting at Sophitia, "RUN!! NOW!!!"  
The words hardly registered with her, as she took a step back and reached for her sword, drawing it smoothly up in front of her and holding her shield in a firm, practiced grip.  
"Don't do this, you don't have to let it own you." She stated in a level voice, assuming a battle stance and preparing for the worst. [It's been a long while since I last fought.. I hope I can remember how it's done]  
  
...  
  
"You don't have to let it own you." The words floated through Siegfried's mind as Soul Edge pulled itself free from the tree. The woman didn't seem to be running. That was not good. [I don't have to let it.. ] Siegfried tried to reassure himself, as Soul Edge took a great swing at the woman's elegant neck, pulling Siegfried along with it.  
  
...  
  
Sophitia ducked low under Nightmare's brutal attack, taking a few steps back to give some breathing room. [Well, that wasn't too bad..] Sophitia thought to herself, pleased with the reflexes that returned to her in her time of need. Raising her shield and sword both together, Sophitia braced as Nightmare's second attack crashed into the conglomerate of weapons and armor, knocking the female paladin off-balance and forcing her to backpedal several steps. [Well, that wasn't very good..] She quickly revised her opinion of her fighting abilities, resting on her back foot to prepare for a shield punch.  
Lunging forward with her blade outstretched to deflect any oncoming attacks, Sophitia let her sword veer off to the side as she stepped forward with her back foot, launching off the real attack with the flat of her shield. Nightmare simply swung his armored fist forward, slamming it into Sophitia's shield punch and sending a shock through her upper arm, following up with a slash from Soul Edge's position near the ground. Sophitia whipped her sword around in one hand, placing it in the way of Soul Edge as she hopped backwards to avoid the blow, knowing her strength was no match for Nightmare's.  
Soul Edge crashed into Sophitia's weapon, knocking the Hephaestus- forged sword into the air but buying Sophitia enough time to back away from the attack. Managing to retain her grip on the weapon, Sophitia drew her sword back into ready position and raised her shield once again. [That was very bad.. I'm quite out of practice.. If I don't attack with my blade, I stand little chance of victory with my current level of skill..] Sophitia told herself in a rush of mental analyzation. [But, that boy is behind the weapon, and he is simply being controlled.. I cannot harm him.. perhaps if I strike for the weapon itself]  
Sophitia darted in, ducking low under a massive horizontal swing from Nightmare, swinging her sword near the ground but deliberately weak so as to avoid injuring the boy. Nightmare ignored the attack as it skipped from his armor, whirling his sword around for a strike that would surely cleave the annoying woman in half. Sophitia rose to her feet, quickly continuing her maneuver, bringing her keen blade around in a beautiful slash to score a hit across the great bulging eye of Soul Edge.  
  
...  
  
As Siegfried struggled to divert Soul Edge's strikes, anything, everything to save the life of this valiant woman before him, he felt his contest was coming to a short, and disastrous, close. Just as he was beginning to lose himself in desperation, the woman performed a brilliant maneuver, sweeping her sword across the surface of Soul Edge's pulsating eye. Soul Edge's control slipped just briefly, and as Siegfried's gaze passed to the drops of blood adorning the ground nearby, he immediately formulated a plan.  
Forcing his body back three steps, Siegfried turned to the left and stomped downwards upon the drops of pure blood lying among the grass. As his foot touched the blood, Soul Edge instantly rose in Nightmare's hands, positioning itself over top of Siegfried's foot, and the blood beneath.  
"BUT WAIT, you demonic beast, take that plunge, and you'll lose much more than you can imagine!! Without my foot, we will be stuck crawling in this forest for DECADES, with no way to walk, and NO ONE to feast upon!!! Drink THAT in before you strike!!" Siegfried called out to the blade, both aloud and in his mind, trying any way possible to reason with the wretched being.  
Soul Edge hesitated, pondering the pathetic knight's annoying logic. It is true, the ability to move would be severely hampered.. and the woman would probably defeat us instantly, she was so close last time, although her skills had certainly weakened over time and disuse. Yes, the boy was right.. perhaps this was not the time to strike.  
While Soul Edge pondered its pestering predicament, Siegfried painstakingly began to yank control of his body back from the hideous creature. However, it was quickly recovering from his distraction, and he doubted he would have enough time or energy to fully regain his functions..  
  
...  
  
Sophitia watched as Nightmare suddenly pulled away, and heard Siegfried's call to the crazed being. [Reasoning with it? What a far- fetched tactic] she thought to herself skeptically, moving forward quickly in the meanwhile to take the advantage the boy had provided her. But, as Nightmare hesitated, she, as well, lowered her weapon slightly. [Could it be WORKING?] Sophitia thought to herself, awestruck, as she watched Siegfried's body shake and sweat with internal struggle.  
"You are doing well..." [What was his name again?.... Oh, yes..] "Siegfried, friends are nearby." Sophitia said, moving forward to recklessly move aside her shield and lay a hand on her opponent's shoulder, putting herself in close reach of the mighty and deadly Soul Edge.  
  
...  
  
Suddenly, Siegfried felt a cool, comfortable hand touch a shoulder that he gained control of just seconds earlier. Hearing a murmur of comforting words, the cool touch seemed to reach from his shoulder down through his chest and throughout his body, offering him support and comfort. [Yes.. this body is MINE.. it's NOT yours.. GO AWAY, Soul Edge! I care not what power you have to offer!] Siegfried willfully told himself and the portion of him possessed by the evil sword.  
Soul Edge felt revulsion as a feeling of soothing and comfort entered through portions of this body that he had lost to the damned boy. The boy was strong right now, inspired, willful, and bolstered by the strength of another.. now was not the time to strike. Even if he could gain control, Soul Edge feared that too much of the boy would remain beyond his grasp, and that would cause him to lose in the fight against the blond paladin woman, especially if her former skills began to resurface. No, now was not the time.. soon, though.. for now, let the boy have a false sense of comfort and security.. let him think he's winning.. then, as soon as he becomes complacent....  
Siegfried felt relief that he'd not felt in years and years of travel, as Soul Edge seemed to shrink back within him, taking refuge in the massive blade that it now possessed. His body began to form back to many of its normal proportions, horrible veins and claw-like entities fading to normal skin in just a few heartbeats. [Can it be? Am I victorious?] Siegfried could hardly believe it to be possible, as Soul Edge released the last of its control, only maintaining a firm grip on the hand that held the weapon. Try as he might, Siegfried could not manage to push the defiled being from the end of his arm. [Let the fiend stay there for now, I've won the day!] he told himself reassuringly, trying to focus on his new, mostly freed body rather than the remnants of the disgusting being stuck in his hand.  
[I've won the day.. with her help] he reminded himself, allowing his eyes to focus as he tiredly fell to his knees, gaze resting upon the waist and upper legs of the woman standing before him. She knelt down before him, gazing at him with concern and caution in her eyes, still firmly holding a wonderfully forged sword near her side.  
  
...  
  
As Sophitia watched the boy regain control of his body, holding his shoulder confidently, the hideous appendages and deformed portions of flesh quickly reformed into normal skin, melding easily into the boy's strong muscles.. [I suppose he's not really a boy anymore, is he?] Sophitia thought to herself, watching the form of a young man take shape as Nightmare's armor re-forged itself into a suit of standard German plate armor.  
She knelt down before Siegfried as he fell to his knees [He must be exhausted from this ordeal.. I wonder how many times he's been forced to experience similar events] and cautiously looked into his face to see if any traces of Soul Edge's control remained.  
"You are Siegfried, are you not?"  
  
...  
  
Sophitia's question struck Siegfried's weary mind at an angle, causing it to bounce off at first, before he could get a clean grasp of it. [I am .. Siegfried.. am I not? .. Yes.. Yes, I am]  
"Yes, I am Siegfried."  
  
End Chapter 3  
  
.... much, much more to come.. no, he has not conquered the blade yet.. not even close.. I just want him to have a normal-looking form so there can be some more romance and junk.. I haven't even put in the 2-handed mace yet  
  
email me with comments/questions: kelaros@mail.com 


	4. A Partnership is Born

Note: [] denotes thoughts  
  
Siegfried let his gaze drift over the woman kneeling before him, who had just helped him beat back the horrible desires of the corrupt Soul Edge. As his eyes passed to the woman's face, recognition dawned..  
"You're.. I know you!" He exclaimed, memories of his past flooding back to him, of the only person who ever tried to help him. "S-Soph-i-tia, right?" He said, awkwardly pronouncing the Greek name on his German tongue. It was her, from those years ago, when he had almost freed himself from the terrible weapon.. even back then, she was the only one who could help him. Just like now.. but.. as he moved to rise to his feet, his awareness fell to the arm still corrupted by Soul Edge, and he could feel the hatred and power of the beast even now, after it's retreat from the battle.  
"G-go away!" Siegfried shouted, suddenly terribly afraid of the demon that still resided somewhere within his body, "P-please, leave now!!"  
  
...  
  
Sophitia backed up a half-step as the German boy.. the young man, began to shout at her to leave. [But he remembers me, that's good, that means he must still be intact even after all those years connected to that .. that THING] she thought viciously, glancing at the sword still held in Siegfried's hand.  
"No, I will not leave." She held her sword firmly at her side, prepared to react in case of danger, but refused to show any weakness by reaching back to her shield.  
"Wh-what!?" Siegfried replied in surprise, [No! She has to go, or I'll ..] "Go, or I'll kill you too!!" He hollered in desperation, feeling Soul Edge's power so close in his hand.  
"You may try, if you wish." Sophitia retained her composure, standing straight, resisting the urge to step into a combat stance so as to not provoke Soul Edge from re-taking Siegfried so soon after its defeat. "But I'd like to talk.. if you do not mind."  
Siegfried's thoughts broke through his panicked interior, [Talk.. that would be nice.. it's been a long time since I've talked with anyone]. As his breathing slowed and his panic began to calm, Soul Edge's power seemed to once again recede into its new hiding place, no longer able to feed on his fear and excitement.  
"Talking.. I'll talk." Siegfried said levelly, not really sure what he'd be able to talk about.. [I don't remember what to do.. what should I say..? Oh..] "Th-thank you," he offered lamely, suddenly feeling rather guilty for threatening to kill the woman just seconds earlier.  
"That's better." Sophitia smiled, relaxing slightly. Glancing up to the sky, which was now darkening into evening, "I shall make a fire, then we can rest and talk. Are you hungry?" She asked, trying to bring some normalcy into the situation, hopefully staving off Soul Edge even further.  
[Am I hungry?] Siegfried pondered the question silently, and as the thoughts of the villagers returned to him,  
"No," He said bluntly, then, suddenly realizing that he'd once again been rude, "Th-thank you." And he glanced around and behind him, looking for someplace to take a seat, suddenly feeling quite cold and rather tired. Locating a stump nearby, he rolled it over near to where Sophitia had cleared out a small patch of dirt to start a fire, seating himself upon it heavily.  
"You should have something." Sophitia said gently, striking up a small flame with some flint and steel from a pouch of hers. Pulling out a loaf of bread that was now a few days old but still the freshest in her possession, she held it out to Siegfried, "Have this, it will help you."  
Siegfried took the bread reluctantly, and, remembering the mystical feeling he experienced earlier while her hand rested on his shoulder, "Is it.. magic?"  
Sophitia smiled, chuckling lightly, "It's bread."  
"It's not magic?" Siegfried asked, just to make sure.  
"No.. it's just bread. It's a few days old, but it's the best I have."  
"Bread.." Siegfried said idly, nibbling on the end of the loaf. The memories of the morning seemed to fade away into a blur as he bit into this gift that the blond woman had given him, beginning to chew on the tough but satisfying exterior. [This is...] "Delicious!" He exclaimed, diving into the food, tearing great pieces off with his teeth.  
[At least he likes it] Sophitia thought to herself, smiling inwardly as the young man devoured the bread that many would consider too stale to stomach. Pulling some hard jerky from another small pouch, Sophitia began to munch on her own parcel of food, starting to feel a bit hungry while watching Siegfried eat. Together they fed their hunger in silence for a few long moments, Sophitia pondering what she should ask about the young man, and Siegfried simply enjoying the taste of natural food for the first time in a very long while.  
Sophitia wondered what could be said to someone who had been forced to slaughter hundreds of people in horrible ways, just today brutally murdering a number of weak village folk in a matter of seconds. Traveling the world year upon year, bearing the burden of a horrible demonic presence invading one's entire being, with whatever insatiable bloodlust might come along with it.. the terror and fear whenever the beast surfaces, the horror at watching one's own body fall to deformation and disfiguration, claws and veins tearing loose from what was once human flesh...  
"Um, h-how's the bread?" She asked, unable to think of anything else that would be even remotely appropriate.  
"It's great!!" Siegfried said cheerfully, feeling younger than he had in ages. [How old am I.. ?] He wondered idly, not being able to remember the last time he had a birthday, or who he had killed on that day.. sighing, he began to feel the joy of relative freedom wear away to the burden of all of the things he had done. "I .. don't know where to even begin to apologize," he began.  
"Right here, Siegfried. Right now." Sophitia said reassuringly, [The best I can do is to support him, at least he's holding Soul Edge back for now.. and I have no idea what else to say to him] "I am an agent of Hephaestus.. if you wish to confess, I shall hear your words."  
"Those.. those damned villagers!" Siegfried started, "I was .. I was under control until.. that.." he felt himself begin to grow angry, thinking of those ungrateful village folk tossing rocks at him and yelling for him to leave. Clenching a fist, he gritted his teeth as he felt Soul Edge's energy begin to pulsate ever so slightly. "Why did they have to.. if they had just let me BE!"  
"But you came to save them, and save them you did. You may have.. harmed.. some of them, but," it pained Sophitia to think of things in these terms, for her code of moral conduct could hardly allow this, but it made sense, and if it would help Siegfried to feel at peace.. "if you had not arrived, many more would have been slain. Instead of killing three.. you've saved a village.. except for three." She choked out the last bit, replaying the image of Nightmare's scything blade sweeping through the poor folk that had stood in his way. As she gazed upon Siegfried's pained face, understanding that he wished to quell his guilt through anger, she began to feel an immense sadness for this hapless soul who had been caught up in a string of events leading to his awful fate.  
Feeling his anger fade at the beautiful paladin's words, Siegfried shook his head slightly, sadly, "S-saved the village.. I'm.. very honored that you would award such a lofty praise to one such as I."  
Sophitia shook her head, "No, what you did today was truly valiant, in spite of the havoc Soul Edge caused in the aftermath. Anyone would have fallen victim to the blade if given the chance to grasp the hilt.. I dare not think what atrocities I may have committed, had I picked up the evil creature that day we met. ."  
"None. You would have tossed it down the deepest ravine, or destroyed it using Soul Calibur, or bound it forever in a shrine to your gods." Siegfried countered her firmly, feeling in his heart that she would have handled the burden better than he had.  
Sophitia looked up from her seat on a fallen log, carefully surveying Siegfried's expression. He seemed sincere, and genuine.. [This young man truly feels that all this pain and suffering is his own doing.. it must be the dark influence of Soul Edge. That evil thing MUST be removed from Siegfried as soon as possible.. ] and then she recalled an ancient legend she had heard, some time ago, after returning from her first bout with Soul Edge. There was an old shrine, hidden deep in the mountains near Delphi, a place that the mythical Oracle was said to have visited long, long ago. The shrine was imbued with the power of the gods, a place so sacred and so holy that only the most pious and righteous were able to locate it. Perhaps there, the sword could be removed.. if they could reach such a place. Perhaps the gods would understand their plea, and guide them to this most holy of shrines. It was a faint hope, but at least it was a goal..  
Just as she was about to voice this to Siegfriend, he spoke up suddenly, "Where did you get that sword?" nodding his head towards the sword Sophitia had now laid beside her, propped against her log seat.  
"This..?" Sophitia grasped the hilt of the sword, lifting it upright in front of her, "This was a gift from my.. from my fiancé" [That's not exactly true...] she thought to herself, [but I can't reveal Rothion's secret so easily]. She ran her fingers along the blade, clearing a bit of condensation that had gathered on the edge, and laid it down horizontally across her lap.  
Siegfried felt a strangely cold feeling wash over his body, "F- Fiance? You're going to be married?" He asked, trying to keep his voice level, [What the hell is wrong with me, so she's getting married, we only just met... well.. maybe we DID meet four years ago, but we barely know each other, and I'm acting like a fool] he cursed himself, wondering in surprise why her silly admission bothered him in the least.  
"Well, um," Sophitia began, [How do I answer this honestly..], "one is typically assumed to marry one's fiancé eventually, right?" She smiled. [That was honest enough, a little misleading, though..] she thought to herself guiltily.  
"I.. I see. I'm very happy for you." Siegfried said, smiling, and he did genuinely feel happy that people could still find love in this world, but, somehow, deep within, he felt very depressed as well.. [all these years, and the only one who's ever helped me is her.. and she belongs to another]. Laughing sarcastically to himself, he continued his internal monologue, [as if it even matters! I would never deserve one such as Sophitia, she's perfect, and I'm ... well, I'm a monster. And a murderer. I'm glad she'll be safe in the arms of another, FAR AWAY from me]. The more he pondered, the better he felt that Sophitia would be able to live a happy life, without him there to drag her down. [I don't deserve happiness, anyway, it's much better this way] he resolved to himself, feeling his spirit strengthen with his new perspective in mind, [all I can do is protect her from myself, and from any other of those damned demons that we meet with.. until I can drag this cursed Soul Edge to the pits of hell with me].  
"Siegfried, is something wrong?" Sophitia asked with worry, noticing his expression change from melancholy to something that more closely resembled pain. [He must be thinking about the villagers again..] She stood up, walking over to where Siegfried was seated on his stump.  
As Sophitia stood, her traveling skirt caught slightly on a small stub of a branch that was sticking from the log she had previously sat upon, causing the skirt to be pulled back enough to reveal a portion of her smooth thigh. Siegfried, upon seeing this, immediately averted his gaze, embarrassed to have caught a glimpse of the sight.  
Sophitia smoothed her skirt easily, sitting down on her knees parallel to Siegfried and misinterpreting the motive behind his guilty look, "So how did you know to come to protect this village?" [If I can get his mind on the good he did, and remove it from the bad.. maybe that will help somewhat.. he seems so torn].  
"I-I.." Siegfried started, shifting his mind to the new topic, and thanking Sophitia silently for the change in discussion, "I don't know. I just.. I knew he was there."  
"You knew?" Sophitia responded, tilting her head upwards to shoot Siegfried a questioning look from her lower position.  
"Soul Edge knew, and it told me.. I think." Siegfried said, feeling frustrated that his only means of detecting the foul beast was yet another foul beast, and that Soul Edge got what it wanted in the end..  
"Good thing it didn't get what it wanted then, right?" Sophitia said lightly, folding her hands in her lap and staring out onto the nearby stream.  
"It.. didn't?" As he thought to himself, Siegfried realized that this was probably true.. [Soul Edge wanted to slaughter the entire village but it failed, and it wanted to kill Sophitia.. but it failed.. the only thing it succeeded in doing was controlling me.. and that's not what it REALLY wanted.. that's just a path to its real goals..] "I guess you're right." And he immediately began to feel better again.  
[He really does have a good heart, in there..] Sophitia thought to herself happily, [This is someone that is definitely worth saving... and someone who definitely NEEDS saving] and thoughts of the shrine returned to her mind,  
"Siegfried.. I .. um, I may know of a place where you can rid yourself of Soul Edge.. for good."  
"Wh-what?" Siegfried looked over at Sophitia sharply.  
"Yes.. I heard of it several years ago.. a shrine near Delphi. I think that... maybe there, where the power of the gods is focused, Soul Edge could be weakened, maybe even removed."  
Siegfried chuckled slightly, thinking to himself, [A shrine to her gods.. gods I don't even believe in, why would they help me? But any hope is better than none.. I can't go on like this forever].  
"What is so amusing?" Sophitia asked curiously, watching Siegfried chuckle for an unknown reason.  
"N-nothing," he said nervously, not wanting to offend the paladin's beliefs, "I'd like to go to that shrine.. any hope is better than none." [And perhaps along the way, someone will come with Soul Calibur and destroy me once and for all..] "Just tell me how to get there and I'll be on my way."  
"I'll show you how to get there," Sophitia said supportively.  
"No." Siegfried stated firmly, [She'll be in danger if she's around me like this, especially with her guard down], "No, I'm going alone."  
Sophitia looked up at him, not moving from her position on the ground. "You cannot get to the shrine alone, only believers of the Greek pantheon can find it."  
[Damn, I can't let her come... I have to show her how dangerous it is] Siegfried thought to himself, shifting Soul Edge slightly to a clear position. Whirling the blade around with all his might, Siegfried swung Soul Edge towards Sophitia's neck, planning to stop a small distance before the blade would touch her, thus proving his point that she was too off- guard.  
Sophitia, having noticed the slight shifting of Siegfried's weapon, reflexively reached to the handle of her sword, pulling it out smoothly. Soul Edge crashed against the surface of Sophitia's weapon loudly, stopping short a few feet from Sophitia's neck, as the lady warrior held her weapon firm against the demonic blade.  
"I'm coming." Sophitia said with conviction.  
The two held their blades together for a long moment, staring into each others' eyes challengingly. "Fine," Siegfried stated. "Fine, you can come. But if you get too comfortable, you may end up dead."  
"I don't need your permission. I am coming whether it is fine with you or not." Sophitia said, pulling her blade away from Soul Edge and re- sheathing it skillfully. "You need help, Siegfried, and I am NOT going to wait somewhere while you let yourself be consumed and destroyed by that sword."  
"I'll not LET myself be-" Siegfried began in anger, then, realizing the nature of her words, [She's coming for ME.. not to protect the people I might kill, or to destroy Soul Edge.. she said she wants to help ME..], he took a deep breath, calming his inner fire. "Sophitia, thank you. I apologize, I'm.. I'm not good at this."  
Sophitia let her expression soften, settling down comfortably in the grass, watching Siegfried stumble and bumble around his own words and feelings. "Not good at what?"  
"At.. people. Talking, spending time with people."  
"I'm not people. I'm just a girl." Sophitia smiled slightly, trying to make Siegfried feel more comfortable.  
"A woman." Siegfried corrected, glancing at Sophitia's well-developed form, then averting his eyes quickly so as not to stare.  
"A woman.. thank you for the observation, sir." Smiling inwardly at Siegfried's silly comment, [At least he seems to be feeling better.. despite that monstrosity on his arm], Sophitia began to feel very weary, the travel of the past days finally beginning to take its toll. Stifling a yawn with the back of her hand, "Siegfried, I'm getting tired.. I'm going to try to sleep. Will you.. will you be fine?"  
"I've spent many nights with this abomination on my arm, another will be no different," he said dully, preparing for the usual fitful slumber that was the only rest he managed to procure in his travels with Soul Edge.  
"But this night, a friend is nearby. Remember that, young man." Sophitia said reassuringly, stepping away to find a nice patch of ground to lie upon, regretting the fact that her camping gear was back with her horse Atheas in the village they had.. visited.. earlier in the day. Finally gathering up enough leaves for a proper pillow, Sophitia laid her head down and rested upon the grassy forest floor, but remained awake for several hours to make sure Soul Edge did not regain the upper hand during her rest.  
Siegfried simply sat with his back to a tree nearby, still dressed in full armor, not even bothering to make himself comfortable. [I can't feel anything except pain and restlessness while I sleep anyway, regardless of how soft the ground I lay upon is..] he thought wryly, letting Soul Edge lie upon the wet grass nearby, its tip dragging in the mountain stream. Taking one last glance at the beautiful, resting form of Sophitia, lying on her side with one leg bent slightly at the knee, he shut his eyes with a sigh and resolved to at least try to get some rest this night, for tomorrow would be the start of a long journey, one in which his awareness and control over Soul Edge was paramount, even in the depths of the wilderness.  
  
...  
  
Late that night, just as Sophitia had finally closed her eyes, a terrible scream ripped forth from Siegfried's resting form...  
  
End Chapter 4  
  
email me with questions and comments: kelaros@mail.com 


	5. Memories of the Fallen

Sorry that this chapter is so short.. haven't had much time to write this week, too much programming, D&D and abandoned house exploring  
  
Nightmare stood stock still, laughing as the slip of a girl scaled the last bit of the ruins, coming to stand before him. She couldn't be a day over 16 (*See Author's Note), judging by the youth of her features and the spring of her step as she pushed herself into a standing position.  
"So you are Nightmare. The possessor of Soul Edge, who has slain so many.." The girl's voice rang clear in the evening sky, certainly not sounding as immature as Nightmare had first expected.  
"Come closer, little girl, let me look upon your pretty face, for soon it shall be as cold and dead as the rocks we stand upon." Nightmare's voice boomed, echoing throughout the ruins, as he once again began his cold, heartless laughter. Despite his arrogant exterior, Nightmare noticed the shining form of Soul Calibur in the hand of the young girl, quickly re- assessing the situation – perhaps the girl was more dangerous than she first appeared.  
Xiang Hua took a few careful steps towards the looming form of Nightmare, more than slightly unnerved by the ghastly appearance of the demon, [Can I really do this? Just look at him..] she thought nervously to herself, keeping her eyes focused on her opponent.  
"Soon YOUR face will be the one lying cold and dead on the rocks, demon!" Xiang Hua boasted, trying to boost her confidence.  
"Then let us begin, young one." Nightmare smirked underneath his twisted helmet, dragging Soul Edge along the ground towards the ripe young lady. [Fresh meat...] Soul Edge cackled with glee, forcing Nightmare forward step by step, while Siegfried's mind struggled feebly in the dark recesses of Nightmare's soul.  
Xiang Hua backpedaled quickly even before Nightmare attacked, trying to stay out of his reach while fueling her courage. Luckily, her quick retreat placed her a hair's breadth out of the range of Nightmare's first attack, a great overhand cleave with the massive Soul Edge which slammed into the ground at Xiang Hua's feet, sending pieces of broken rock flying in all directions. Xiang Hua raised her arms reflexively to protect herself from the chunks of rock, which pummeled her as she stumbled back, shocked by the force of the blow.  
Heart pounding in her chest, Xiang Hua darted to the side, desperately trying to avoid Nightmare's next attack, [I can't do this, he's too strong!!] she yelled to herself silently, on the verge of panic as Nightmare's massive blade swept over her head, barely missing as she dove onto the ground.  
"Try again!" She shouted haughtily, trying to talk big to restore some of her former courage. Nightmare complied easily, stabbing his blade straight for Xiang Hua's chest. Reacting at the last moment, Xiang Hua slammed her blade against Soul Edge, pushing it aside with all of her might while stepping to the side of the demonic sword. Surprised by how easily Soul Edge was deflected, [That's right, I have Soul Calibur! I can win this!!] she lunged straight for Nightmare's stomach with sword outstretched.  
Nightmare quickly pulled up his blade in a vertical sweep, knocking Soul Calibur off-kilter, and counter-attacking with an overhand strike, which Xiang Hua raised her weapon to cross-parry. The massive Soul Edge slammed against the upraised surface of Soul Calibur in a clash of noise and metal, while Xiang Hua held her ground using the power of her sword.  
"Come on! Is that all you've got!?" Xiang Hua shouted, darting forward to strike through Nightmare's shoulder-plate with the point of her weapon. Just as Soul Calibur cut through Nightmare's armor, Xiang Hua was caught on the leg with a vicious backswing from the mighty Soul Edge, slicing into her calf and knocking her clean off her feet. Landing flat on her back, knocking the wind from her lungs, Xiang Hua rolled aside desperately while struggling to regain her breath. Stumbling to her feet and favoring her left leg, she let out several ragged breaths while staying a good distance out of Nightmare's range.  
"Pathetic, little girl. Using that sword, I had hoped you would be more of a challenge." Nightmare taunted the injured girl, yet still felt the sting of the wound on his shoulder, as the blood of Siegfried's twisted body seeped down through his armor plating.  
"You'll see how much of a challenge I can be!!" [I hope...] Xiang Hua boasted, rushing forward with feet clattering against the hard stone floor, quickly springing into a cartwheel while attempting to keep as much weight as possible on her uninjured leg. Nightmare rotated his hips, lashing out with an armored leg to deliver a vicious roundhouse kick to Xiang Hua's midsection, just as she flipped within range. Grunting in pain as Nightmare's foot slammed her off course, the young girl sailed through the air for several meters, bracing herself to roll as she crashed into the hard rock floor. Rising to her feet shakily, Xiang Hua clutched Soul Calibur in a tightened fist, leg stinging from Soul Edge's slice and body aching from her latest mishap. [I can't give up now, I have to stop the Soul Edge!]  
"That was n-nothing" she stammered, stepping forward in an attack stance. "I'll show you Soul Calibur's power!" Closing her eyes to prevent distraction, Xiang Hua surged forward, slashing high twice blindly, feeling her blade skip across a metal surface, then, opening her eyes widely, she thrust her blade low towards the ground, stabbing into Nightmare's foot.  
Nightmare howled in anger as the tiny girl's blade passed through his foot, sweeping his blade around horizontally for her head. Xiang Hua braced her sword with both hands, raising it to shield against Soul Edge's terrible form as the massive weapon crashed into her defenses, causing her to skid almost a full meter to the side. As she pulled back her weapon to slash downwards upon Nightmare, the twisted form of Siegfried reached out with a huge, deformed hand to grab her by the neck and haul her into the air.  
"Die, little girl!" Nightmare's voice boomed, as he swung Soul Edge diagonally, hoping to cleave the struggling female in half. Xiang Hua whirled Soul Calibur around to guard against the blow while squirming in the fist of Nightmare, managing to deflect the greater portion of the attack. The force and weight of Soul Edge, however, shoved the smaller Soul Calibur aside, cutting a horrendous gash down across Xiang Hua's chest as she hit the ground hard.  
The wounded, weary woman picked herself up as quickly as her bleeding body would permit, not allowing Nightmare time to recover from his attack. As she rose, Xiang Hua shouting hoarsely, "How about this!!" pulling back her sword to slash twice lightly across Nightmare's upper body, the first slash skipping from his disfigured armor while the second sliced his shoulder near the collarbone.  
"Here's another!" Confidence bolstered by her own voice and her successful attack, Xiang Hua spun around, thrusting her Soul Calibur straight backwards in a last desperate effort to turn the tide of the losing battle. As Nightmare raised his mighty greatsword to block the young girl's thrust, Soul Calibur pierced into the looming, terrible eye at the base of Soul Edge's demonic form.  
For a split-second, both weapons seemed to shudder and resonate as their wielders froze in mid-swing. Then, suddenly, as if two volatile chemicals combined to form an exponentially volatile reaction, the weapons exploded with a resounding boom, shattered metal pieces spraying forth from the once-great swords. Soul Calibur's shards intermingled with those of Soul Edge to shower upon the stone ruins, clinking against the ground like steel rain falling from a sky of darkness.  
As Siegfried watched the top half of his monstrous captor explode in a fury of energy, he felt a terrible searing pain consume his body, as if his own arm had been torn loose from his torso and tossed aside. [The shards!!! RETRIEVE THEM NOW!!!] Soul Edge's voice boomed through Siegfried's head, adding to the pain of dismemberment, but Siegfried's attention was diverted to the young, courageous girl who had stood up to his terrible reign as Nightmare. Somehow, her courage reminded him of another woman who had once stood up to the blade.. Siegfried watched in horror and remorse as a single shard of Soul Edge tore into the girl's chest near her heart, knocking her backwards off the edge of the ruins. Reaching desperately in a vain attempt to grasp the girl's hand, Siegfried fell to his chest as Soul Calibur's former wielder toppled out of sight, in all likelihood falling down the cliff surrounding the base of the ancient fortress to crash on the rocks below. Letting out a terrible scream of pain, anger, and regret, Siegfried desperately tried to fight off the encroaching will of the Soul Edge...  
  
...  
  
"..gfried! Siegfried!!! Wake up!! You're having a nightmare!!" Sophitia's urgent voice broke through Siegfried's dreamlike state, hauling him back to reality from the dark recesses of his memories. He shot up into a straight sitting position, grasping outwards to try to reach the fading hand of the young girl.. and his fingers closed around a smooth but well-defined female wrist. [I caught her!?] Siegfried thought to himself in desperate surprise, [I've never caught her in the hundred times I've had this dream!] As the dream images slowly passed into reality around him, droplets of water fell loosely from tree branches, remnants of the prior day's rain, and the slow, easy swish of a mountain stream echoed lightly from behind Sophitia's kneeling silhouette.  
"Are you awake? You were screaming terribly.. I was afraid that S-.. that.." Sophitia began, then stammered when she almost mentioned her true fear: the fear that Soul Edge had been retaking Siegfried's body. Glancing down awkwardly to Siegfried's hand clasped around her wrist, Sophitia decided not to point out that he was holding her with a painfully tight grip.  
Siegfried shook his head, trying to clear his mind of the awful visions that still left their imprint upon his weary soul. Finally noticing his fingers around Sophitia's wrist, "O-oh, I.. s-sorry, I was reaching for.." and he quickly let her arm fall to her lap, pulling back his hand, [so, I failed to catch her this time as well.. just as always..] "I was.." glancing to Sophitia, his voice ground to a halt, as he suddenly realized that he didn't really want Sophitia to know what had happened back then.. he didn't want her to know about yet another of a long line of terrible sins.. yet another sign of his monstrosity and lack of control.. yet another reason why she should leave him alone.  
"I killed a young girl." He stated simply.  
"I don't believe that." Sophitia replied, just as simply.  
Siegfried looked up at her incredulously, "What do you mean, you don't believe that? You know I've.. I've murdered.." he began, but Sophitia cut him off shortly,  
"Siegfried, stop this nonsense. You must learn to separate yourself from the blade if you ever want to be free." Sophitia immediately felt guilty for being so harsh with him, [I shouldn't be so patronizing.. but it might be the only way to get him to relinquish his association with that awful weapon.. if he would just stop thinking of it as himself..] "Why don't you tell me what happened? Tell me about your dream.. about what .. what Nightmare, and Soul Edge did.. and about what you saw while you were there." She took a seat next to him, bending her knees to fold her legs up under herself comfortably.  
  
... And so he relayed the story of his battle with Xiang Hua to Sophitia, who listened raptly for several hours...  
  
After Siegfried finished his tale, he turned away from Sophitia, not daring to see the look of pity and horror he knew he would find staring back at him. Sophitia simply let out a small sigh, folding her hands in her lap.  
"She could have survived, you didn't see where she fell. Did you find her afterwards?" Sophitia asked supportively.  
"I.. I don't know, I don't remember much after that, except for gathering the pieces of Soul Edge." Siegfried said, without much conviction in his voice.  
"Then who knows? Why don't we just assume that she's alive and well, just as I was when I was cut up by the shards of the blade four years ago." Sophitia offered, hoping to cheer Siegfried up, [I'm so clumsy.. I'm probably making him feel worse.. I better just close my mouth..] she thought to herself dejectedly.  
"You were.. that's right.. and you survived.." Siegfried didn't dare hope that the girl had lived, but he was beginning to feel pleased that he had told Sophitia of his long-time recurring nightmare [at least she doesn't seem to hate me even more now..].  
"With the blessings of Hephaestus. And I'm sure whichever god that girl believes in has granted her the same kindness. Why don't you get some rest now, Siegfried? I'll keep watch." [In case anyone comes by, or in case Soul Edge regains the upper hand.. he did not look to be in good condition when he woke up..] Sophitia thought to herself grimly, but at the same time, she felt proud that he had tried his best to rescue the girl – regardless of what Soul Edge had done, the man that was Siegfried deserved much better than this.  
Siegfried nodded tiredly, shutting his eyes and leaning his head back against the tree behind him, trying to relax his body. [It's been so long since I had control over it, I barely know what to do with it anymore...] Siegfried thought to himself, chuckling cynically as he attempted to adjust his back to feel slightly more comfortable. Feeling relief for having relinquished even a small portion of his burden to Sophitia, Siegfried was finally able to rest with some measure of comfort for the first time in a very, very long while.  
  
End Chapter 5  
  
* Author Note: Since the destruction of Soul Edge occurs 2 years earlier in this fic than it did in the game series, Xiang Hua would actually have to be two years older than she was in game (unless I wanted her to be 14, which is too young to fight well in my opinion). Since this is 2 years after Soul Blade ended, instead of 14 as she would be at this time in the game, I decided to make her 16. Thus at "present" in the fanfic, Xiang Hua would be 19 years old.  
  
email questions/comments: kelaros@mail.com 


	6. Allies in Arms

Note: [] denotes thoughts  
  
Waking up early to the cool morning air, Sophitia climbed to her feet and stretched gracefully, yawning with a hand over her mouth. Droplets of sparkling dew adorned the leaves and ferns that grew up alongside the clear stream nearby, occasionally falling to the earth in splashes of prismatic light. Siegfried was still asleep, [At least he seems to be getting a good rest..] Sophitia thought to herself, smiling inwardly as she adjusted her clothes and casually made her way around their rudimentary campsite, cleaning up and hiding all signs of habitation.  
Shortly after she brushed the last bit of ash from the fire into the muddy ground near the stream, Sophitia heard a slight groan escape the mouth of Siegfried as he seemed to slowly wake up, twisting uncomfortably and pushing himself to his feet.  
Glancing over to where Sophitia stood near the stream watching him, Siegfried tried confusedly to remember where he was and what the hell he was doing here as the remaining cobwebs of sleep continued to addle his mind. [It's been so long since I've really slept, without the cursed sword controlling my dreams.. ] and then, as Sophitia smiled at him, offering a short "Good morning" before bending to cup her hands in the stream and sip some water, the events and memories of the previous day finally returned to him.  
"Good.. uh, morning," Siegfried said awkwardly, unused to greeting any living being aside from the Soul Edge in the morning due to his years of traveling in the wilderness. Moving to the stream to wash his face and hands and gulp some of the pure water, Siegfried enjoyed the cool feeling of wetness trickle down his face as he splashed the stream's contents over his head.  
"You look like a drowned rabbit." Sophitia giggled unbecomingly as she turned to see Siegfried's wet hair hanging down around his face.  
"I.. what?" Siegfried said in surprise, turning to face Sophitia, who had covered her mouth with her hand to avoid seeming crass as she laughed. Thrusting his hands into the stream, Siegfried entwined his fingers under the water and pulled up a pocket of liquid in his palms, tossing it over Sophitia's head.  
Sophitia cringed as the cold water splashed over her, "Wh-what are you.."  
"You look like a drowned rat!" Siegfried said in mild annoyance, wondering what possessed the woman to insult him like that.  
"I do not!" Sophitia protested, bending over to look at her reflection in the flowing stream. Her now-wet hair hung down around her cheeks, as she reached back to push her ponytail over her shoulder. "I think I look more like a.. badger."  
Silence ensued for just a moment before the two burst into laughter almost simultaneously, letting the tension from the previous days pour out of their systems for several long seconds in humorous bliss. As Siegfried's laughter began to die down, "A badger isn't right either.. in truth, you look like a..." and he paused, the word 'goddess' on his lips, [I can't say that, she'll think I'm some kind of.. cheap city swindler..] letting the phrase die out on his tongue.  
"A... what?" Sophitia rose to her feet, looking at Siegfried with interest.  
"A .. woman." Siegfried said, cursing himself for his pathetic people skills.  
"That's not what you were going to say," Sophitia observed curiously, "What were you going to say?" As her pleasant voice reached Siegfried's ears, he realized how much it pleased him to hear her talk, [Why would I want to hear someone's voice? I must be going daft.. this damned sword is getting to me again..].  
"Something." Siegfried said, unable to think up a tactful excuse, resorting to the pure and simple, but very vague truth.  
"You.. don't remember?" Sophitia inquired, recalling several instances in her life when she began to have a conversation but ended up forgetting her original point halfway through the discussion.  
"I remember." Siegfried stated evenly, not giving an inch.  
"But you don't want to tell me?" Sophitia asked suspiciously, wondering what it could have been that he was going to say. [Was it really that bad? I wonder if I have something on my face...]  
"I want to, but I'm not going to." Siegfried responded, wondering curiously why Sophitia was now touching her cheeks and forehead and glancing worriedly at her reflection in the stream.  
"I wish you would," Sophitia pushed, now more curious than ever about what Siegfried almost said a moment ago. The two of them began the trek back towards the village, Sophitia to re-acquire her horse and Siegfried simply following the blond woman blindly.  
Suddenly realizing that perhaps Sophitia thought he was going to insult her, Siegfried quickly pointed out, "It wasn't an insult," just to clear up any possible misunderstandings.  
[I guess I don't have anything on my face, then..] Sophitia thought with relief, though wondering why she even cared what she looked like in front of this man – she had never felt her appearance was important while spending time with anyone else in her life. For some reason, although she knew that she should just leave Siegfried be and stop pushing, Sophitia couldn't resist finding out more about what he was thinking.  
"Well, um.. whenever you decide to tell me, then.. tell me." [Well that sounded stupid, I can't believe I said something so dumb.. I'm such a stupid peasant] Sophitia thought to herself with a sigh.  
"I'll do that, I promise." Siegfried said with a chuckle, for some reason pleased that he had managed to knock the woman off-balance with his banter.  
"Thank you very much, sir." Sophitia said wryly, feeling as though she'd somehow lost this match, even though Siegfried's only strategy was pure stubbornness.  
As they neared the village, Sophitia mentioned that she should probably go in to retrieve her horse alone, since the villagers would recognize the still-obvious form of Soul Edge hanging from Siegfried's hand. Agreeing with her wholeheartedly, Siegfried rested himself next to a tree trunk to wait for Sophitia's return, as she unassumingly slipped into the town and untied her horse from where she left it the previous day. It seemed that most of the village was still in shock, and Sophitia offered some prayers for the dead and wounded, stopping by the large memorial service that was underway for those that had fallen to the demon's axe. After paying her respects, Sophitia left the village and made her way back to Siegfried, feeling saddened that there was nothing more she could do to help the villagers.  
Strangely, Atheas did not rear or show the least bit of fear as Sophitia held his reigns and led him to the tree Siegfried had chosen to lean against while waiting. Instead, Atheas lowered his head to sniff along Siegfried's chest, head, and arms, and the armored warrior stood awkwardly still, unsure of how to react to the animal's probing. As if to say that he trusted whom his master trusted, Atheas backed away from Siegfried after checking his scent, turning to other, more interesting things, such as the long tuft of grass near the edge of the road that looked so very appetizing.  
Siegfried, noticing Sophitia's somber mood, said nothing, simply moving up to walk alongside her as she led Atheas down the road east, in the general direction of Delphi. They spent the greater portion of the day in silence, Sophitia not once mounting Atheas despite the rocks and ruts that littered the road they tread upon; since Siegfried was forced to walk, it was only fair that she walked as well.  
Finally, as the sun descended below the far mountains and the orange evening sky shone overhead, the pair found a suitable camp ground, Sophitia watering Atheas at a nearby pond while Siegfried tried, rather unsuccessfully, to prepare some sort of fire for cooking.  
"Here, like this.." Sophitia knelt next to Siegfried after taking care of Atheas, organizing the sticks and branches of the fire pit into a structure that resembled a tiny log cabin, stuffing the base with kindling and pieces of bark. Siegfried watched attentively, barely remembering how to survive in the wilderness alone after spending so many years lacking control of the majority of his body. After sparking her flint and steel several times, Sophitia managed to start a small flame, blowing on it softly to form a good-sized blaze. "There." She said proudly, stepping back to admire the cheery campfire.  
Siegfried looked up from his kneeling position, watching Sophitia's triumphant, beautiful face reflected in the firelight. [I could sit here forever, watching her..] he thought to himself idly, losing himself in her chiseled features, forgetting to feel embarrassed that she might notice him staring. Luckily for him she did not notice, instead digging some bread and cheese from Atheas's saddlebags. Offering Siegfried a good-sized hunk of tasty cheese made from the milk of her families' cows, Sophitia sat herself gracefully by the fire, warmed by the orange blaze.  
As Siegfried accepted the food from Sophitia's hand, he broke his gaze away quickly, cursing himself, [What the hell am I thinking, I have no right to look at her like that]. As he sat by the fire, memories returned to Siegfried, of a darker time.. a time when he was controlled by the sword, when the only thing he could remember was the face of a woman.. [A woman who has a fiancé waiting at home] he reminded himself once again, forcing an unwanted feeling of pain that existed in the bottom of his heart to the back of his mind, instead focusing on the fact that she would have a good and happy life once she was rid of him.  
[I wonder what he is thinking about?] Sophitia asked herself, watching a distant look play on Siegfried's hard features.  
"What are you thinking about?" She voiced her internal question without realizing it, shutting her mouth quickly afterwards.  
Broken from his reverie, Siegfried looked up into the dancing flames of the campfire. "Nothing." He said gruffly, adjusting his armor which had begun to chafe against his left shoulder.  
"Oh.." Sophitia said in disappointment, tearing some bread with her teeth and chewing vigorously. Together they sat by the fire and took supper, neither feeling comfortable enough to start any sort of conversation, and, finally, as the fire died down, they settled in to sleep under the sparkling stars of the night-time sky.  
  
...  
  
Sophitia sat up suddenly, throwing aside the light cloak that she had overtop herself as a bedcover. Peering around intently and scarcely daring to breathe, she concentrated on the awful feeling of apprehension that had suddenly constricted her chest. Only twice had this feeling consumed her during her lifetime; once before her first journey to find the Soul Blade, and again when the azure-armored Nightmare appeared to her in a vision. Despite her fears, Siegfried appeared to be resting normally, sitting between two large roots with his back against a nearby tree. [What, then, could be causing this feeling?]  
As she sat upright scanning the darkness at the edges of their campsite, a strange, ethereal vision began to form in her mind. Someplace.. where was it.. a small house.. to the southeast.. not far.. on the road.. something.. large, deadly.. something else.. hidden.. waiting.. seeking.. they're seeking something.. it's a trap.. they're.. seeking.. [Soul Edge! It's a trap!] Sophitia shot to her feet, grabbing her sword and shield from a rock near her bedspread. Taking a look at Siegfried's sleeping form, [I have to head them off, have to stop them before they can get to him.. if he fights again, Soul Edge will wake up, and .. and Siegfried will.. I can't let that happen!!] Sophitia swiftly, quietly padded past Siegfried's slumped body, taking careful steps so as not to crack any sticks with her calf-tied sandals or cause undue noise that might wake the restless knight.  
Trotting down the road near the tree line, Sophitia kept her eyes open wide to allow maximum vision in the darkness of the night. Luckily, the moon shone strong overhead along with thousands of clear stars, providing a small amount of pale light that illuminated the path before her. As she traversed the dirt and rock path, a small farm cottage came into view around a sharp corner. The humble cottage consisted of thick logs stacked up on a stone block foundation which was caulked with horsehair, the entire conglomerate appearing cramped but cozy and comfortable nonetheless.  
Sophitia cautiously approached the little house, using candle-light from one of the square-shaped windows to guide her steps. [They're close, I can feel it.. it was right here..] she recalled the vision she had just moments earlier, matching the cottage to the small house in her mind. A flicker, a squeal, and suddenly the light from inside the cottage was snuffed out like a thundercloud passing overhead on a summer day.  
"Who goes there?! Show yourself!!" Sophitia called out boldly, adrenaline rushing to her veins. A hulking form passed across the window inside the house, blocking the moonlight momentarily, and was gone. [What if someone is inside?!] Sophitia thought frantically, suddenly becoming keenly aware of the potential danger to the cottage's inhabitants. Dashing forward with all attempts of stealth abandoned, Sophitia made for the door on the other side of the cottage, prepared to jump into battle at the drop of a coin. She could feel the evil behind that door, the hatred emanating from inside.. it felt just like the demon from the village the day before, almost like .. almost like Soul Edge itself, in its pure and most hideous form.  
Just as Sophitia reached for the handle, the door of the cottage burst open from the inside out, slamming into her wrist painfully and knocking her back several steps. A huge, beastly yet armored figure loomed in the doorway, stepping out of the cottage with a low growl. Hiding the face and skin of the beast, the pale yellow armor of the hulking monstrosity shimmered slightly in the moonlight, complementing the huge, wicked axe clutched in the demon's fists. Beyond the creature, Sophitia could faintly make out the forms of two small girls huddled in the corner of the tiny house. They were shivering and looked scared to death, but at least they were still alive. [Thank the gods.. I got here in time] Sophitia thought to herself, not bothering to ponder whether or not it would actually matter in the end.  
"Ahhh.. It is you!" A strange, hideously broken voice echoed from beyond the faceplate of the armored creature's helmet. "I will kill you, and the boy will come. He will soon succumb to my master, as all eventually do!!"  
"He will never, not even if I die!" Sophitia shouted challengingly, [its master? Does it mean Soul Edge? What else could it be?]  
"And die you shall." The voice behind the helm echoed once more, as the creature hauled its axe around, preparing to strike.  
Shifting her shield further back on her arm to alleviate the pain in her wrist, Sophitia took a few steps back, preparing to defend against the armored hulk's initial strike. Faster than Sophitia had anticipated, the massive beast yanked his axe into the air, preparing to instantly cleave the woman in twain. Fortunately for Sophitia, the axe slammed into the roof of the house, lodging briefly in a large, knobby log. Taking the opportunity to evade, Sophitia dashed to the side as the armored creature pulled free the axe and continued its downward swing. The huge weapon crashed into the ground, causing a large stone beneath it to explode into thousands of pieces. Hauling its weapon up from its place among the broken stones, the beast whipped the axe wildly to the side, forcing Sophitia to dive to the ground to avoid losing her upper body. The axe bit into the side of the cottage, embedding deep in the wood and causing the entire house to shake precariously.  
Sophitia stepped forward up off the ground, lunging forward to drive her blade into the hip of the armored beast while it tugged upon the haft of its axe. Black blood spilled from the wound as Sophitia pulled free her sword and raised her shield desperately, barely managing to block the metal- clad butt of the beast's axe. Leaping into the air as the armored berserker wrenched free its axe and hacked at her legs, Sophitia lashed upwards with a kick, slamming her foot into the demon's face and flipping head over heels to land gracefully and securely on the ground several meters away. [At least I've still got that much in me.. ] Sophitia allowed herself a small measure of pride regarding the amount of skill she had retained despite spending the last three years of her life at her home without a day of practice.  
Shaking its head briefly to recover from the hard kick to its jaw, the armored beast lowered its stance, rushing forward in an attempt to completely overpower the smaller woman. Sophitia danced dexterously to the left as the beast rushed past, counterattacking with two hard horizontal slashes that scraped across the berserker's golden plate armor with loud clanking noises. Pulling her sword arm back for a hard thrust, Sophitia suddenly noticed rapid movement out of the corner of her eye.  
Pain washed over Sophitia's body as a rogue sword slashed into the flesh of her left leg, then whipped up towards her face on its backswing. Raising her shield to block the attack with a loud clang, Sophitia stumbled backwards, dazed from the savagery of her new opponent's offensive. A darkly clothed figure crouched before her, face covered with a wrapped sash, holding a wide falchion clenched in its fist. Sophitia cursed herself for her stupidity, [Damn! I sensed two of them before, I should have been more careful!]. Together the cloaked attacker and the armored berserker came forward, falchion outstretched in an attack that Sophitia expertly knocked aside with her sword, and axe swinging diagonally upwards, barely missing the woman warrior's face as she dodged to the side.  
Dancing backwards in a set of well-placed steps, Sophitia clipped attack after attack from the air with the sword of Hephaestus while slamming her shield into oncoming blows, desperately averting the deadly strikes of her opponents. Weapons clashed with resounding noise as Sophitia defended against the brutal assault, focusing all of her energy on avoiding death, leaving none left to strike even a single blow against her attackers. Letting her old combat instincts take over during the flurry of attacks, Sophitia ducked, dodged, parried and blocked with such speed and precision that her mind could not keep up with her body, [Hephaestus give me strength, allow me to defeat these demons and protect the..] her mind suddenly blanked as the berserker's axe smashed into her shield, knocking her flat over onto her back onto the hard ground. As the dark-clothed assassin's falchion lashed towards her unarmored head, Sophitia offered one final prayer to any god that was listening, [I guess this is it... please protect Siegfried and--...].  
  
...  
  
As Siegfried drifted in the land of dreams, he watched helplessly as his once-powerful greatsword shifted and deformed into the terrible Soul Edge, cleaving down guilty and innocent alike in a swirl of bloody miasma. As the sword clashed against those of his opponents, the sound of steel upon steel reverberated through his mind, shaking him to his very core.. [Wait.. that's.. that's no dream!] Siegfried's eyes shot open as the sounds of battle reached his resting place on the damp forest floor. Pushing himself to his feet with urgent haste, he took a quick look around to scan for any danger. [Where's.. Sophitia?!] panic arose in his chest as he noticed that Sophitia's cloak had been tossed haphazardly to the side and her resting place lay unoccupied.  
Taking a moment to pinpoint the location of the combat, Siegfried hauled Soul Edge over his right shoulder and set out in a dead run towards the sounds of battle, not stopping to spare even a single thought for what was likely to happen if Soul Edge entered another fight. Adrenaline shot through his body as Siegfried rushed down the dark, rocky road, filling him with energy and urgency, as his mind raced to calculate the nature of the opponents based on the sounds of the combat. A small wooden farm cottage came into view as he rounded a sharp corner on the road, illuminated only by the light of the moon and stars above. As Siegfried desperately peered through the night air to see what in the world was going on, the glint of moonlight off of sharp steel caught his eye.  
The black silhouette of a massive, armored figure holding a brutal axe cut a hole in the forested backdrop of the scene, as the axe flew by the face of a smaller figure... [Sophitia!!!] and up into the air, missing its target. A cloaked warrior stepped from the shadows to Sophitia's left, lunging towards her with a brutal strike, which Sophitia expertly parried with her firmly gripped weapon. In the few heart-pounding seconds as Siegfried's vision adjusted to the darkness, Sophitia danced gracefully about her opponents, managing to avoid or deflect each and every oncoming attack with such precision that Siegfried could not help but look on in awe, [Incredible.. she's completely lost in concentration.. she's even more skilled than I remember]. The moment Siegfried's eyes adjusted to the point where he could strike without fear of hitting Sophitia, he rushed forward, hauling his blade behind him for a massive attack.  
Just then, the golden-armored berserker's axe slammed directly into Sophitia's shield full-strength, knocking her into the air and flat onto her back. As Siegfried watched in horror, the dark-clothed assassin's blade lashed out towards Sophitia's exposed head..  
Siegfried's heart jumped into his chest as he bellowed and swung his great blade forward with all his might, "Ahhhrraaahh!!!" in a desperate attempt to save the life of this valiant woman, his only friend in the world. Soul Edge crashed into the assassin's falchion, batting it aside like a fly, as the huge sword continued on to slash across the assassin's robed chest, knocking him a half-turn to the right as he spun in the air and landed on his side in a pile of dirt and rocks nearby.  
Sophitia looked up from her position on the ground in surprise, expecting to feel the pain of the assassin's sword end her life, but instead watching as the mighty Soul Edge swung overhead into the cloaked rogue, sending him sailing through the air to hit the ground a number of meters away. [Siegfried?!] Her mind raced with surprise and renewed energy [He's come to save me!!] and she shoved herself to her feet, favoring her injured leg [But what about Soul Edge!? We have to end this quickly or it might overtake him again!!].  
Lowering herself into a combat stance, Sophitia stepped up to Siegfried's side, "I shall defeat the vile assassin!" and she dashed forward, "No mercy!!" sweeping her blade up for the assassin's throat as he leapt to his feet, bloodied but still in fighting condition. The agile assassin raised his falchion to block Sophitia's strike, causing her sword to vibrate painfully as steel struck hard steel.  
Siegfried pressed forward with his assault, raising his massive blade overhead and swinging for the armored berserker the moment the assassin hit the ground. Sophitia's words passed lightly across his fury-filled mind, and he barely comprehended her speech as his sword crashed into the haft of the berserker's huge axe. Rotating his body, he delivered another attack immediately following the first, which the berserker slammed to the side with the back end of its weapon. Coming in with a powerful knee-strike, the golden-armored demon slammed Siegfried in the stomach, but the wrathful warrior barely felt the attack, recovering quickly and returning the favor with a brutal swing using the flat of Soul Edge's heavy blade. Soul Edge crashed into the berserker, hurling the creature to the side due to the sheer force of the attack despite its massive size.  
Meanwhile, Sophitia quickly recovered from the assassin's parry, bringing up her shield to defend against a high slash from her opponent. The moment the assassin's sword clashed against Sophitia's shield, the devious warrior reversed his swing, slashing for Sophitia's belly. The female warrior knocked the attack aside with her sword, stepping forward with a quick shield punch which connected with her opponent's cloth-wrapped face. Following up with a painful backfist to the side of dark assassin's skull, Sophitia continued the assault by spinning around and slamming her opponent once again in the face with the flat of her shield, knocking him clean off of his feet and onto the hard ground. Backing up out of caution due to her leg injury, Sophitia felt her behind touch against Siegfried's cold metal back-plates. [I'm glad he's here.. even if he's wielding Soul Edge, I'm still glad he's here] Sophitia thought to herself, feeling guilty towards Hephaestus for teaming up with Soul Edge's wielder, but unable to deny her relief at having Siegfried nearby and fighting as her ally.  
Soul Edge's power surged within Siegfried as he tensed to prepare for his next strike, [N-no.. I have to fight it.. can't let it take control again..] as he felt something comfortable bump against his backside. Siegfried instinctively turned his head to check what had come upon him from behind, and, upon seeing Sophitia's weary but focused expression through her dangling blonde hair, felt the influence of Soul Edge recede away from his mind, returning to the hand that held the awful weapon. Feeling a wave of relief wash through his body, [She's alive..] Siegfried noticed a flicker of moonlight upon a sword blade in front of Sophitia and to her left. Acting on instinct alone, he hauled his huge weapon up and rotated his body, stepping past Sophitia in a rush of movement, blade flying through the night air...  
As Sophitia bumped into Siegfried, she turned her head slightly in a habitual reaction, exposing herself to the assassin for just a half-second too long. Rolling up from his resting place, the cloaked rogue lunged forward, flicking his blade towards Sophitia's unprotected belly... just as Siegfried's immense sword cleaved through his small body, halving the demon in a mere fraction of a second. The berserker reacted immediately as Siegfried turned his back, raising its axe above its helmeted head for a final, fatal stroke. Sophitia, noticing the movement of the golden armored demon out of the corner of her eye, whirled around, lunging desperately for the beast before it could get the chance to strike Siegfried's exposed back.  
"Repent!" Sophitia shouted as her blade pierced deeply through golden armor and into the berserker's stomach, yanking it out smoothly as black blood flowed from the mortal wound. "Foul demon, return to whence you came!"  
The berserker, falling to its knees and clutching at the wound, laughed sickeningly, blood welling up from its mouth inside its metal helm. "You were lucky to have her this time, boy." And the demon turned its massive head towards Sophitia, "But your aid does not come without cost, knight of Hephaestus. Know that" the demon began coughing as blood filled its lungs and throat, "Know that your family will pay for your deeds so long as you fight against us... soon, you will be all alone in this world, but for that twisted boy!" Continuing to laugh in jerky spasms as it collapsed to the ground, the berserker breathed its final shuddering breath, coming to lie still on the rocky dirt road in a pool of its own congealing blood.  
"You can threaten no one now, hellborn." Sophitia said to the corpse of the berserker, staring down upon the demon's huge form in disgust. Then, turning to check Siegfried's condition, Sophitia felt a pang of worry as Siegfried collapsed to a knee, holding the hilt of Soul Edge with a death grip. "Siegfried, are you injured?!" Pain shot through the slash on Sophitia's leg as she knelt down next to Siegfried, glancing over his mostly-armored body in worry to scan for any signs of blood or damage.  
"I am.. I am fine." Siegfried panted, fending off the demonic energy he had absorbed just seconds ago from the evil assassin. "I will be... fine." He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to focus on the good things in life... [What are the good things in life? I can't remember..] and then, feeling Sophitia's hand a few inches down from the deformed hand that held Soul Edge, [There's one..].  
"Do not fear, Siegfried. I am here." Sophitia smiled at the taller blonde warrior, trying to calm him and increase his chances of successfully fending off Soul Edge.  
"Your.. your leg," Siegfried said, upon seeing the slice on Sophitia's left calf. "I-I'm sorry, I took so long to get here." [Just a moment longer, and her life would have been ended..] Siegfried thought to himself grimly, [I cannot afford to be so slow next time].  
"Siegfried, you saved my life." And then, looking down towards the ground, Sophitia continued, "I... I apologize for putting myself in such danger. I should not have been conceited to the point where I would try to defeat two powerful opponents at the same time."  
"You couldn't have known there were two... why did you come here in the first place?" Siegfried asked curiously, Soul Edge's influence now only a tiny presence in the back of his mind.  
"I could have known... I did know. I was just... I didn't want you to fight and then become.. I didn't want..." Sophitia didn't know how to continue, feeling awkward for being worried, and also not wanting to imply that she did not have confidence in Siegfried's ability to resist the evil blade.  
"Sophitia.. thank you. I've never had anyone protect me before. N- not that I need protection." He said hastily, feeling like a fool for implying that he, Siegfried, who had wielded Soul Edge for years, needed to be protected by anyone. "B-but it's nice to have it, uh, sometimes." [What the hell am I talking about.. I sound like an imbecile]  
Sophitia stared at him for a long moment, then, pushing off of a knee to stand to her feet, [I guess it must be hard for some people to admit that they need help..] she offered a hand to Soul Edge's kneeling wielder. Siegfried took her hand and allowed her to help pull him to his feet.  
"What did that thing say about... your family?" Siegfried asked, afraid to bring up the topic, but also worried for Sophitia's loved ones.  
Sophitia shook her head, "Idle threats from a dying creature, in all likelihood, but I will to check to be sure... if there exists any possibility that my family is in danger, I must go to them."  
"I'll.. I'll come help. I'll just.." Siegfried began, glancing down to look at his deformed hand, still attached to Soul Edge, "I'll just stay in the woods nearby your home, or... someplace where people won't see me."  
Sophitia, glancing at Soul Edge and the remaining parts of Siegfried that were still disfigured, felt sadness and guilt for agreeing that Siegfried would have to stay out of sight, but at the same time realized that there was no other way to go about it, "I would like it if you came along. I don't care much for Soul Edge, but it's best to keep it nearby.. and I do care for you." [Why did I say that? He's going to think I'm some foolish peasant girl now.. which.. I suppose I am..] She turned away slightly, avoiding Siegfried's eyes, looking instead towards the small farm cottage nearby.  
Siegfried, at first startled by Sophitia's admonition [She actually.. doesn't.. hate me? ... why?], quickly became distracted upon noticing a small silhouette of a person at the door of the cottage. "Who..? Show yourself!" Siegfried shouted, turning to face the silhouette, [Damn it, if there's another fight, I don't know if I can hold Soul Edge back..].  
"Siegfried, wait!" Sophitia said, taking a step forward. "It's .. it's a child!" Holding onto the edge of the cottage door stood a small slip of a girl dressed in pale blue working pants and a shirt, with tangled brown hair hanging down around her shoulders. Behind her, an even younger girl crouched down, peeking from between the first girl's knees. The older one looked no older than 10, and the younger could have been perhaps 6 years old. "Hi there!" Sophitia said sweetly, approaching the children slowly while trying to avoid looking like a threat. "It's fine, you are safe now. Those bad people won't be coming back." The 10-year old looked bravely at Sophitia, shivering slightly but not moving from her position by the door. "Come on out, we won't hurt you. Where are your parents?"  
The older girl shook her head, "G-gone." She said softly, while looking up defiantly at Sophitia. Upon seeing the children, Siegfried immediately attempted to hide the massive Soul Edge behind his back, which met with very limited success given the girth of the weapon, looking almost comical. The oldest child looked out the door past Sophitia, gazing upon the corpses of the two demonic creatures that ransacked the house earlier. Glancing to her little sister,  
"Come on, Elina. We're leaving." And she took a step back into the house, filling a small sack with some dry goods from a cabinet nearby, all the while keeping Sophitia within her range of vision cautiously.  
The tiny girl backed up into the house as soon as her sister moved, "B-but.. wh-what about m-momma and papa? They s-said stay!"  
"Momma and papa aren't coming back. They left, and they aren't coming back." The older girl said with a level voice, clearly attempting to control her deep emotions. Elina began to sniffle upon hearing her sister's words, curling up into a ball-shape and wiping at her eyes as her small tears fell towards the ground. "Come on, we're going with these people." Elina's older sister said in the same level voice. Elina nodded through tears, forcing herself up and about the house, collecting a small number of personal effects.  
After gathering their things, the two children stepped outside of the cottage into the cool night air, the older sister standing defiantly before Sophitia while the younger continued to wipe tears from her eyes, sniffling lightly. Siegfried stepped forward, awkwardly 'hiding' Soul Edge behind his back,  
"I'll carry your things," he offered, feeling horribly embarrassed about the disgusting sword held behind him [They must think I'm a monster.. any moment, they'll run away screaming] he thought to himself wryly, imagining the two children hollering and yelling and fleeing away into the wilderness.  
Elina began to hold up her bag in compliance to the request, but her sister quickly pulled her own sack out of Siegfried's reach, slinging it onto her back, "I'll carry my OWN things, thank you very much." And glared defiantly to Siegfried, then to Sophitia, then back to Siegfried. Elina followed suit awkwardly, pushing the strap of her bag up onto her shoulder.  
Sophitia glanced to Siegfried, who shrugged in bewilderment, astonished that the children still had not fled. Looking over to the sisters, Sophitia asked, "We need to travel quickly. Will you be able to keep up?" and then, thinking of a better idea, "Can you ride a horse?" Both girls nodded; apparently they had gained some skills from working on their small farm. "Good. Let us leave this place as soon as possible, then." Sophitia said, wiping the black blood from her sword on some nearby bushes and heading quickly back towards camp. Siegfried waited until the children began to trot after Sophitia, then followed behind them, careful to keep Soul Edge as out-of-sight as possible, [Maybe they haven't seen it, somehow..].  
Quickly packing their things, the two blonde warriors scraped away all signs of their campsite, Sophitia taking a few moments to adequately clean and bandage her leg wound. After boosting both children up onto Atheas, where they sat comfortably, she took the reigns and made to walk down the path back towards the cottage.  
"What do you think you're doing? Get on the horse." Siegfried said gruffly, annoyed that Sophitia would try to walk with such an injury on her leg.  
"Wha-what?" Sophitia said in surprise, sending a swish of blond hair over her right shoulder as she turned to look at Siegfried.  
"You are injured. Get on the horse." [That doesn't sound right.. maybe I'm supposed to say it differently?]  
"Oh.. I can walk." [Even though he's being rude, at least he's thinking about me..] Sophitia thought with a small smile.  
"It does not matter. Atheas is a strong horse, he can carry you along with those two." Siegfried pressed the point of Soul Edge into the ground, setting his other hand on his hip and looking straight at Sophitia, not willing to budge until she agreed.  
"If you insist, sir." Sophitia said, pursing her lips externally but internally feeling very pleased that he would be so concerned for her over such a small injury. The two children shifted back slightly as Sophitia boosted herself up onto Atheas's back, "Pardon me, Elina, ...?" realizing she didn't know the other girl's name, Sophitia looked at the older sister awkwardly.  
"Alcina."  
"Pardon me, Alcina." Sophitia smiled, "My name is Sophitia, and this," She swept her hand towards the armored knight nearby, "is Siegfried." Alcina nodded silently, Elina simply hugging onto her back tightly. Together the party of four proceeded south, beginning their journey to Sophitia's home, all four sharing the hope that the trip would be peaceful and uneventful, all four also sharing the fear that somehow, it would not be.  
  
End Chapter 6  
  
Author's Notes:  
  
Well I wasn't planning on including Alcina and Elina in the story when I began writing this chapter but they just sort of popped in there, so I'll try to use them well. I hope I'm doing the Siegfried/Sophitia relationship well, it's so hard for me to tell - this is my first fanfic and I didn't realize how difficult it would be to be objective when reading my own junk.  
  
I'm very tired and very busy this week so I'm not sure when I'll get the next chapter out, it'll probably take longer than usual, but I'll try to make it quick.  
  
email questions and comments: kelaros@mail.com 


	7. Rain

Note: [] denotes thoughts

Note: Just for clarification in relation to one of my reviews, this story actually occurs IN PLACE OF Soul Calibur 2, so no, Soul Calibur 2 will not happen after this, Siegfried will not necessarily be taken by the sword again. Soul Calibur 3 is what will occur after this story, which I guess I'll have to rewrite as well to fit my revised storyline, but we'll see what happens with that when it comes out. Anyway, on with the story..

Siegfried, Sophitia, and the children traveled back towards Sophitia's home in the late spring weather, trudging through 2 days of rain and forced to take shelter for another day during a particularly violent thunderstorm. In the two weeks during the journey, the children took well to having the warriors with them, occasionally glancing at but never asking about Siegfried's deformed sword arm and hideous weapon. Sophitia took several hours each night to refresh her familiarization with the arts of combat, practicing forms with Siegfried as he utilized a stick as his weapon, held in his left hand. Siegfried tried his best to be gentle with the children, making sure they were fed during the day and protected during the night, while Sophitia taught the lot of them various wilderness survival techniques that she had learned during her journeys years ago.

One night, 4 days after setting out from the old farm cottage, the travelers sat beneath a shelter of branches and leaves that Sophitia and Siegfried had crafted earlier in the day as the rain pounded outside. Thunder boomed in the distance, causing Elina to huddle up against her sister, both of them wet, shivering and trying to warm up under one of Sophitia's blankets. Siegfried glanced at the two children sidelong from his cross-legged position on the shelter's leafy floor, feeling slightly envious of the warm blanket covering the girls, but refusing to show any weakness in front of this troupe of ladies. Folding his arms across his chest, Siegfried sat with back straight, defiantly daring the dampness and falling rain to cause him any discomfort [I'm not used to feeling the weather... it's been so long since I've felt uncomfortable in such a natural way.. but I'll be damned if I show it to Sophitia and those kids.. they'll think I'm some kind of city-born street-corner shoemaker or.. or.. something]. Thinking about it, Siegfried wondered if Sophitia would mind if he really WAS a shoemaker.. what job might her fiancé hold..?

Sophitia smiled softly as she looked over towards Siegfried, who sat awkwardly straight, seeming to be deep in thought, [I wonder what he's thinking about.. but he must be cold, under that metal armor. Too proud to admit, no doubt. I'll just have to take care of it myself, then.] and Sophitia rummaged through her saddlebags, which she had removed from Atheas and taken inside the shelter an hour or so ago. Pulling a large wool blanket from its folded position inside one of the leather satchels, Sophitia gracefully rose to her feet and walked over to Siegfried, draping the blanket about his shoulders.

[What does this fool woman think she's doing? Does she think I'm weak?!] Siegfried thought to himself as he felt the comfortable blanket fall about his shoulders, covering most of his cold body armor as well as his exposed left arm and shoulder. [I guess I'll.. let it go, this time..] as Siegfried felt his body temperature immediately reach a more suitable level soon after the blanket fell about him. Grunting a simple, rude-sounding "Thanks" to Sophitia, Siegfried then fell silent, once again pondering about his friend's home and past.

"Are you married?" Alcina's sudden question caught both warriors off-guard, Siegfried coughing several times as Sophitia fumbled and dropped the metal canteen she had just pulled from one of her bags, which fell to the ground and hit a small rock with a clang.

"Oh no, it's dented now.." Sophitia said ruefully, bending over to retrieve the canteen from the ground, turning her blushing face away from the other three residents of the small shelter.

Siegfried did not respond to the question immediately, [Married? She thinks we're married? Why the hell would she think that? Her parents must not have taught her very much before they left.. naïve little girl.] but no matter how he tried to force himself to dislike the child, he couldn't help feeling affection towards Alcina for her innocent, unexpected question.

"Nah." Siegfried answered, at the same time as Sophitia began, "Well, we're.." and then paused briefly as Siegfried spoke, then continuing with her original statement, "... just traveling together for now." Upon hearing their denials, Alcina fell silent, mulling over this new information.

"Are you going to get married?" Alcina offered a new, revised question, glancing back and forth between the pair of bewildered adventurers.

"Yeah." Siegfried blurted out suddenly, [What the hell am I talking about?] "No," He quickly revised [What the hell is wrong with me!?]. Alcina looked at him, confused.

"Um, wh-what Siegfried means, Alcina, is that..." Sophitia began, [What DID he mean....?] "Is that.. right now, we are just traveling together, but no one knows what the future may hold. Isn't that right?" [That must have been what he meant.]

After rolling Sophitia's statement through her mind for a moment, Alcina nodded. "That's right."

[What the future may hold...] Siegfried mulled over this statement, his thoughts turning dark as old memories flitted through the outer vestiges of his mind. [The future... this future holds nothing for me, but it still has hope for the three of them. Sophitia and her fiancé have a life ahead of them, so do the girls... but only if I don't kill them first]. He began to laugh mirthlessly, silently, his armor rising and falling slightly in synch with his chuckle.

Mistaking his laughter for light-hearted humor, Sophitia smiled in embarrassment, placing her dented canteen back among her things while averting her blushing face [What could he be thinking, laughing like that?]. And she seated herself against the solid tree that formed the back of their makeshift shelter, shifting into a comfortable position with one knee folded beneath her.

A comfortable silence ensued as the travelers sank into their own thoughts, falling asleep one by one under the roof of leaves and pitter patter of the softly falling raindrops.

...

One, however, remained awake throughout the night. Siegfried watched as Sophitia drifted off to sleep shortly following the girls, her head falling slightly to the side to rest upon her shoulder, hair spilling down over the front of her pale blue blouse. But sleep would not take him, he would not let it, for he had other plans this night.

He had kept it to himself, fearing to mention to the others, but the battle with the assassin days ago had taken more from him than he cared to share. His mind was distraught, his feelings floating, disjointed, through his weary mind. [How could I have allowed myself to travel with them!? How could I have placed them in such peril!?] Siegfried scolded himself angrily, cursing his own weak will-power for allowing him such comfort at the risk of others.

Checking to be sure the three girls were asleep, Siegfried quietly shifted off the cloak that Sophitia had so generously offered him earlier in the evening, folding it and placing it reverently on the ground nearby.

"Sophitia, thank you for all of your help... you have been nothing less than magnificent." Siegfried said in the slightest of whispers, hauling his massive sword slowly up behind his back in an attempt to remain silent and undetected. Waiting for several long moments, Siegfried finally felt satisfied that his companions were in deep sleep. A few well-placed footsteps placed him out of the range of the small leaf shelter and into the rain that fell quietly in the partly moonlit night.

Searching the clouded night sky unsuccessfully for any visible star formations, Siegfried cursed his poor sense of direction, resolving to simply escape the campsite for the time being and figure out which direction led to Delphi tomorrow under the morning sun. Starting out under the dark canopy of leaves above him, Siegfried permitted himself a small sigh, a last parting gift to his lonely soul which had finally received a few days of respite among years of sorrow.

As his thoughts began to wander to darker, less pleasant memories, a profound sadness fell over the fallen knight, an overwhelming feeling of despair and hopelessness that began to forge itself into iron resolve. [I will take this sword far away from everyone, I will never let it harm a living soul ever again, I will throw myself down the deepest chasm, and bury this awful monstrosity FOREVER!].

"Siegfried."

Siegfried halted suddenly as a feminine voice rang behind his armored back.

"How dare you." Sophitia said coldly as Siegfried turned to face the woman. Seeing her hair, wet from the rain, hanging around her shoulders and about her finely chiseled face, Siegfried found himself paused in his tracks, unable to think or to act. He simply stood there, dumbfounded, staring at the dripping woman, who glared defiantly back at him. [Too much time spent as her ally... I had forgotten what it was to face her as an enemy, and it is not pleasant...] Siegfried thought to himself, failing to move a muscle.

"How dare you place my blanket upon the dirt ground!" Sophitia shouted, "Did you not stop to think how filthy it would become in such a place!?"

"The... the blanket? S-sorry," Siegfried stammered in surprise, [Is THAT what she came after me for, that fool woman!?].

Sophitia broke into a smile, looking brilliant in the moonlight and falling rain. "If you are truly sorry, come back to camp and make amends."

Siegried turned his head to the side, unable to meet Sophitia's gaze, "No, I cannot. Too long I have allowed myself to place you in danger, it is time for me to leave."

The peasant woman remained silent for several long seconds before opening her mouth to respond, "I thought we had an agreement. I would help you find the shrine, and in turn you would protect my family from the demons that pursue us both."

"There was no such agreement between us!!" Siegfried spoke up angrily, "I never made such a promise, do not twist my words, woman!"

"It is an unspoken pact made between comrades!!" Sophitia shouted, "You DID make the promise, you made it the moment you swung your sword in my defense! Will you abandon us to the demons that hunt my family at this very moment!? You would walk away with that THING slung across your back, leaving us to their knives and axes, leaving me to fend off those... those terrible monsters, ALONE!?" Sophitia felt her anger rising, anger at his naivete, and hurt that he would decide to leave her alone after what they had shared.

"If I was to lose control over Soul Edge, those demons would be the least of your worries, Sophitia." Siegfried said coolly, somehow able to maintain his calm despite Sophitia's stinging words.

"That's right, because YOU would be foremost in my mind!" Sophitia retorted.

"I am glad we are in agreement." Siegfried said, turning his body to walk away from the drenched figure of Sophitia standing before him.

"No, we are NOT. I am talking about YOU, Siegfried Schtauffen, not the Soul Edge."

Siegfried's steps came to a halt, and for many long moments, the only sound that could be heard near the two distraught warriors was the pleasant falling of rain, splashing against leaves and sticks and dripping to the ground in a play of delicate splendor.

"Come back to camp and pick up the blanket you left. It is becoming dirtier by the moment." Sophitia scolded, turning to walk back towards their crude shelter and the children who slept within. [Please, Siegfried, follow me... please...] Sophitia prayed for the tall warrior to hear her silent plea, not daring to look behind her for fear of seeing an armored back disappearing into the wilderness. [For my family, for Alcina and Elina, for the Soul Edge, for yourself, for ME, for 100 other reasons, this is the best decision... come].

...

Siegfried's steps carried him silently through the forest, his feet moving without consent of his mind, without thought or reason or even consciousness, they took him towards his destination, for they knew it, even if he did not.

Glancing up to see Sophitia's back, Siegfried increased his pace, coming to walk alongside the warrior woman, who, he now noticed, had large circles under her eyes, and seemed extremely tired. [Why am I going back? I am a danger, a MONSTER...] But despite how he tried to reason with himself, his feet carried him ever forward, ignoring his pleading mind.

Eventually the leaf shelter came into view, the children sleeping soundly underneath a warm blanket, unaware of the important exchange that had taken place with their newfound guardians. Trying to remain quiet as to not wake the girls, Siegfried and Sophitia moved through the shelter to their resting places, Siegfried picking up the blanket he had carefully folded and once again draping it over himself, turning away from Sophitia's pointed look in shame.

Sophitia shut her eyes gently, allowing her mind to wander, [All is well that can be well... now we just have to make it to my home in time. I wonder if Hephaestus will grant me another dream in which Siegfried calls me magnificent......] as she fell into a deep sleep.

End Chapter 7

I'm sooooooooooo sorry I took so long to get this chapter out and it's not even that long. I've just been so darned busy lately that I haven't had time to sit down and write this thing, and I don't want to just throw out something half-assed. Honestly I can't say I'm all that pleased with this chapter either but it was more of just something to get me back into it, coming up will be their return to Sophitia's home which should be a lot of fun. I hope I can get the next chapter out sooner than this one... but no I haven't just forgotten about this story, I do plan to finish it, just have to find time...

email me with comments/questions: 


	8. Only a Stream

Wow. Been ages since I've updated. So sorry everyone. I bought a new house so I've been pretty busy getting it fixed up, really haven't had a lot of time. But whatever, time to stop procrastinating. Here goes…

Note: (()) denotes thoughts (ARgghghh… I used to use the square brackets but removes them now when I upload documents.. .aragsagdsafasfasgag)

The days passed, as the season slowly turned from autumn to winter, leaves darkening to brilliant oranges, browns, and golds before being swept out into the air by the elements, gracefully settling on the cold ground of the road. One of these leaves, a particularly large one, cracked and crumbled as Siegfried's reckless, booted foot stepped upon it. The sound went unnoticed by the armored warrior, whose thoughts were focused on other matters.

Many days of hard travel placed Siegfried, Sophitia, and the children on the outskirts of Sophitia's home village, fast approaching the town while Siegfried fumbled around with some blankets in a pitiful attempt to cover up his monstrous arm. Oddly, the children had not once even mentioned the growth coming from Siegfried's right hand, for whatever reason choosing to ignore it just as Sophitia and Siegfried chose not to press the girls about their parents. The journey itself had gone smoothly, only once was the group forced to stop, and that was due to a mudslide from the torrential rains that had finally ceased a few days ago. ((Sophitia's home town… if there is one place in the world where I must maintain control, it is here.)) Siegfried told himself, steeling his willpower, ((Even if she could forgive me and blame the sword, I could never forgive myself if I hurt her loved ones)).

As these somber thoughts passed through his head, Siegfried slipped slightly, getting his armor stuck in a portion of the blanket he was trying to use to cover his huge weapon. Tugging and twisting around in frustration, he managed to tip himself over and fall flat onto the ground with a crash of armor and metal. Alcina and Elina burst into giggling, while Sophitia laughed light-heartedly. Siegfried grunted in annoyance, pulling himself to his feet and trying to salvage whatever dignity he had left, finally managing to cover the massive Soul Edge with brown cloth.

A week and a half had passed since Siegfried's last attempt to escape his responsibilities and his fate, and now, the tormented warrior's mind was restless, a jumble of fears, worries, and pain. ((What if the demon wasn't lying… and we are too late? How can I possibly comfort her if her family has been killed? I can't even… I can't even comfort myself, let alone someone like her… and those damned children, what can we do with them…)) as his thoughts turned sour, he angrily shoved away memories of blood and death, instead favoring the here, and the now… doing his best to focus on what was important at this second. At who was important… his gaze lifted to Sophitia, who was just brushing a stray lock of her away from her ear.

Not noticing Siegfried's glance at first, Sophitia turned her head to the side, stopping for a moment as Alcina reigned Atheas to a halt. Sophitia had, for the last week, been teaching Alcina how to properly control a trained mount, using Atheas, of course, as the test subject. Atheas seemed immensely pleased with the situation, often taking the opportunity to bolt, shuffle, or otherwise annoy the young girl, while at other times being perfectly agreeable. Apparently a bit less stalwart than his master, Atheas certainly enjoyed his opportunity to make mischief.

Dropping to the ground from atop the great horse, Alcina stretched herself briefly, sore from the days of travel atop the beast.

"I'm thirsty. I'm going to drink." She said matter-of-factly, leaving no room for argument.

"Oh, me too!" Elina cried out, accepting Sophitia's help in carrying her off of the horse's back.

Siegfried sighed in annoyance at the delay, "Hurry it up," as the two young girls quickly pattered over to a sparkling brook nearby.

Kneeling near the stream, both girls lowered their hands into the cold water, cupping liquid and splashing it into their mouths. "Oh!" Elina exclaimed suddenly, standing up. Siegfried and Sophitia immediately turned their heads to the girl, surprised by her tiny yelp. "I'm…. wow, this footprint must belong to an awfully big lumberjack!" Elina said innocently, looking down to her feet, which, oddly, both stood within a massive boot track that had recently been imprinted on the mud near the stream.

"That's…!" Sophitia breathed, ((Could it be… one of those demons? Or…)) "Y-yes, I think that it very well may be an oversized lumberjack.…" Sophitia mouthed, ignoring the irony of Elina's comment as images of huge axe-wielding terrors plagued her mind. Quickly exchanging looks with Siegfried, Sophitia rushed over to the stream to get a better look. "They lead into the forest… we cannot be more than an hour's walk from my village by now…" her heart beating worriedly, mind racing, trying to think come up with a plan, figure out what to do…

Siegfried felt an odd, unfamiliar sensation of pain in his chest, as Sophitia's worried eyes set upon him. "Don't be a fool." He said gruffly, "It's fresh, he can't have gotten far. I'll follow the tracks, you go to your home, in case I can't catch him in time. Your village folks would probably scream and run if they saw me, anyway." He said, smirking mirthlessly, ((This is the best way, I couldn't bear it if… why does she look at me in that way, that fool woman…! With luck, I can destroy this threat before she even lays eyes upon it…)).

Sophitia, passing the plan through her head, nodded once, "Right. Just… be careful. Alcina, you and Elina stay here, and keep yourselves hidden." Hauling herself onto her horse, Sophitia's skirt flew up briefly, exposing a smooth, attractive leg that Siegfried felt his eyes gravitate to in an instant.

((I wonder how she would look without that skirt…)) Siegfried found his mind unintentionally wandering, somehow, all thoughts of conflict and fear whisked away… ((What.. WHAT am I thinking? I have NO right to think such things about someone like her! Siegfried, you lowly cur!)) Tearing his gaze from her beautiful body, Siegfried growled, re-instilling the anger that had just fled him with rage towards his own undeserving soul. Snorting, Siegfried murmured darkly, "Careful? I think not. I'll tear this bastard's guts out and use his entrails to strap my boots." ((And if I'm lucky, he'll get me in the process…)).

"Beware, knight, for my wrath shall easily surpass that of any that you fight this day, if you prove to be careless against my warning." Sophitia's eyes glittered dangerously as she glared at Siegfried, ((Oh, please, do not be reckless…)), as the armored young man refused to meet her gaze, ((But now is not the time for argument.. lives may be at stake.)) "May Hephaestus's will guide our blades!" Sophitia shouted, kicking Atheas into a gallop, and she sped towards her home town, hoping to come there before another disaster, like the village where she met Siegfried, those weeks ago…

…

Cassandra sat bolt upright in her bed, an awful feeling constricting her head and chest. ((What… what is this horrible sensation?)) Clenching her arms under her breasts, she doubled over in her bed, feeling sick to her stomach. ((I've… never felt something so suffocating, so… unclean…)). Kicking off her simple cotton sheets and shifting her feet from the bed to the floor, Cassandra slowly stood upright, staving off the feeling of weakness and nausea encroaching upon her entire body. Moving towards the window, her toe pushed aside a small, stuffed animal in the shape of a horse, reminding her of the events from the previous night…

… The previous night, at Cassandra's house …

"It's been almost a month!" Sophitia's father shouted, standing up at the dinner table for the 5th time that evening, palms down on the hardwood surface.

"Achelous, sit down! Shouting about it won't help anything, she's made her decision, and now she's gone, the only person that can bring her back is herself." Sophitia's mother said calmly, trying to cool the nerves of her perturbed husband.

"How can I relax, Nike? She went off on that fool quest to chase that fool sword AGAIN, completely disobeying everything I said for the THIRD TIME! Do you not recall when she arrived home, wounds littering her body, muttering strange phrases on her lips, her wits addled? By Hephaestus, Nike, I dare to say my daughter has lost her MIND!"

Achelous's voice echoed in the kitchen, met by the dead silence of Nike, Cassandra, and Rothion, all of whom were seated at the same table enjoying some hard-earned supper.

"I.." Cassandra began, "I'm sorry... if I hadn't-.."

"Hush, child, it is not your fault." Nike comforted the distraught Cassandra, who had been all but bursting to run after her sister ever since Sophitia left weeks ago.

"She must have had a good reason." Rothion said calmly, taking a bite out of a nice loaf of freshly baked bread. "Sophitia is a reasonable… a wonderful… woman, and I am certain she would not make such a decision unless she was absolutely certain it was necessary."

Cassandra looked over at Rothion oddly, remembering how he handed Sophitia a wrapped weapon just before she rode off on Atheas three weeks ago. ((Doesn't he know why she left? Why did he give her a sword?)) "Weren't you-.." Cassandra began, but was abruptly cut off as Rothion spit out a chunk of bread, choking and coughing violently.

"I-I am sorry, I must have choked on a seed. I need some water… please pardon my rudeness." And Rothion stood up, quickly heading outside to draw water from the well, leaving Cassandra watching open-mouthed as the door shut squeakily behind the blacksmith.

"At least Rothion seems to be holding up well… he's such a strong man." Nike commented absently.

Achelous seated himself tiredly, "Yes, at least one part of this family has a good head on his shoulders. Maybe it will eventually rub off on our daughter." And sighing, took a long swig of mead, leaning back in his chair and trying to forget his worries for the moment.

"I'm… I'm tired, I'm going to go to bed." Cassandra said, having no desire to once again deal with the conflict that had continuously pursued nearly every night in the house since Sophitia's departure. Pushing her wooden seat back and standing to her feet, her parents barely gave her a second glance as she quietly padded up the stairs to her bedroom. Pushing the door open with a creak, Cassandra silently slipped into her room, flopping down upon her old, comfortable bed with a sigh. ((Damn it, Sophitia, why did you have to run off like that…)). Reaching down beside her bed, Cassandra plucked up a small, brown stuffed horse, one that Sophitia had purchased for her from the morning market many years ago. Gazing at the black beads that were sewn into the horse's face as eyes, Cassandra suddenly hugged the toy animal to her chest, biting back tears as they unbiddingly dripped down her cheeks.

"Sophitia… I wish you would just… come home…" Cassandra mumbled aloud, clutching the horse to her, and lying back in her back, shifting to her side. Finally allowing the tears to fall freely, Sophitia's little sister sniffled and sobbed, eventually crying herself to a fitful, restless sleep.

… Present time ….

Shaking her head quickly to clear her mind, Cassandra tore her gaze from the small stuffed animal, trying to purge her head of all sentimental thoughts. ((Something is here… something TERRIBLE…)) was all she could think, as she pushed the storm shudders of her windows open. Sunlight poured in, ((Morning, already? I must have overslept…)), as Cassandra swept her eyes across the tree line nearby, searching for what she felt… what she KNEW… was out there…

A huge shape, just beyond the trees, in the cover of shaded darkness, slunk back into the woods, disappearing into the vast expanse of underbrush that bordered Cassandra's small hometown. ((His skin… was it… purple? Or… red, or something? What sort of creature has skin like THAT?)) Cassandra's heart raced as the demon she knew in her heart was as hideous as it was deadly escaped, probably to lay siege to the peaceful village at a more opportune time, or place…

"Mother, FATHER!" Cassandra shouted, rushing down the stairs as she pulled on a tunic, but no one answered her call. ((Damn, they must have already gone to the morning market… there's no time, I have to… I have to go!)). Slipping her feet into her soft suede boots, Cassandra rushed out to the barn, letting the door hang open on its hinges behind her as she pushed open the large wooden barn door. Chickens clucked and scuttled aside as the young woman threw bales of hay out of the way, uncovering a locked wooden strongbox that Sophitia did not realize her sister was aware of. Grabbing the lock, Cassandra fiddled with it briefly, becoming more and more frustrated with her inability to open the rusted contraption.

((Damn…)) she thought to herself, then, "DAMN!" She shouted aloud, searching around desperately for a method of opening the box, and, more importantly, gaining access to the contents therein. Grabbing a heavy iron maul from its place leaning against the side of the barn, she hefted it overhead with both hands. "How about THIS!" swinging the maul down with all her might, the massive metal head smashed into the lock, breaking it open in a single strike. Tossing the farm tool aside haphazardly, Cassandra quickly yanked open the lid, reaching inside the box and pulling out Sophitia's old sword and shield, which she had hidden there years ago. Though badly worn and battered, ((Wow, she must have really been through a lot…)), the fighting implements were still in usable condition, surprisingly, after sitting in the barn for almost 4 years. Strapping the shield to her arm and taking up the blade in her right hand, Cassandra rushed from the barn, running across the cold ground towards the place she last spotted the demonic creature, her heart pounding wildly with fear and apprehension. ((What if… what if I really FIND it? What then? I can't fight as well as Sophitia…)) Her time training with Rothion, though well-spent, still left her a far cry short of her older sister, and she knew it. ((But what choice do I have? I can't just let it roam, whatever it was… oh Hephaestus, please protect me…)).

Bursting into the underbrush, Cassandra soon realized that the demonic creature causing the terrible feeling of dread and dirtiness in her chest had already moved on, perhaps closer to its prey, but, thankfully… or, perhaps not thankfully… it had left a clear trail for her to follow. Taking a deep breath and steeling herself, trying not to think about what would happen if the demon tore off her limbs… or… or ate her head, or crushed her torso or… shaking her head violently, Cassandra set off into the forest, quickly jumping over the clear, sparkling stream that led through the heart of the village, and following the tracks of the monster.

…

Galloping Atheas into town with reckless abandon, Sophitia stopped at nothing, leaping her horse over brush, fallen limbs, and piles of other debris that had littered the ground during the recent storms. Atheas, sensing her urgency, offered no argument, quickly and crisply obeying the commands of his worried master. The two of them soon reached Sophitia's old farm house on the outskirts of town, Sophitia reigning Atheas to a skidding halt, the large horse's hooves sending dirt and chunks of cold mud spewing everywhere as he scrambled for footing. Sophitia dismounted, hitting the ground with a light tap, quickly jogging over to her house, worry creasing her brow.

"Cassandra? Mother, father!" Slapping aside the door, ((Why was it left hanging open? Did they… are they already?)) Sophitia rushed into her home, carelessly tracking dirt and mud from the road onto the carefully swept wooden floor. Taking only a moment to traverse the house, she soon realized that the old building was completely unoccupied. ((Where could they have… Perhaps they fled? But nothing seems out of order… Am I overly paranoid? That footprint could have belonged to… no… no, it was definitely either one of those demons, or … HIM…)).

"The market… Of course, they must have gone to the morning market!" Sophitia exclaimed aloud, hurrying out of the house, flinging the door shut behind her out of old habit. Rushing across the ground, she stepped into Atheas's stirrup, throwing her other leg over the beast and kicking it into a gallop before she had even become settled in the saddle. Reaching back to secure her hair behind her head, Sophitia's heart pounded with urgency as she raced towards the center square of the village, hoping that this time, she would be there in time.

((With luck, the demon has not yet reached the village, and Siegfried will find it in the forest…)) Feeling sudden worry for her companion, Sophitia tried to push the emotion to the back of her mind, ((Siegfried can handle himself… But.. can he handle the Soul Edge? What if it… what if it takes him again! I'm such a fool, I should not have let him go off alone! But what choice did we have?)) Gritting her teeth in frustration, the warrior woman's worry and indecision disappeared in an instant, as a massive splotch of blood dripping from the side of a small baker's cart came into view. ((He's HERE!))

Leaping down from Atheas, Sophitia rushed into the tangle of small tents, carts, and buildings that made up the center square of her village. On this day, once per week, the morning market teemed with activity, salesmen peddling their wares, travelers from afar spreading story and rumor alike, townsfolk picking up dry goods for their home and families. But today… today was different. The market was deathly quiet, no children's laughter, no prices shouted from push carts… no, the market was empty, abandoned, or so it seemed to Sophitia, almost as though the vibrant strand of life that ran through the square had been plucked and left in the air, still humming slightly, its player absent, abandoned in mid-song.

Trotting quickly but carefully through the square, Sophitia kept her eyes and ears opened, watching and listening for any sign of the demon that would soon be her opponent.

"S-stay back!" She heard a familiar face say shakily from just beyond a small shop to her right.

"Father!" Sophitia shouted, ((Thank goodness, he is still alive!)), turning the corner with shield raised, expecting an attack at any moment. "Are you hurt?" She called out to her father, who was standing only a few meters away, dented pot in hand, body shaking from fear and exhaustion. His wife had fallen behind him, clutching her leg with one hand and gritting her teeth in pain, blood oozing from a wound beneath her fingers.

"Soph.. Sophitia? Sophitia, RUN, NOW!" Her father shouted in surprise, head swiveling to take his runaway daughter into view. "There is a… a DEMON, or, or SOMETHING! You must go, GET AWAY from here!" He screamed at her, shaking his pot for emphasis.

Noticing a massive shape emerge from the shadows between two large market tents out of the corner of her eye, Sophitia stepped forward, turning to behold the immense, familiar form before her.

"N-NO, STAY BACK!" Her father cried out, voice cracking as the hulking monstrosity came into view, grinning through wicked, sharpened teeth. "Sophitia, PLEASE, RUN!"

"I would NEVER!" Sophitia screamed, reaching back to draw her blade out viciously, the sound of steel scraping on leather ringing clear through the market square, "Astaroth! This time, you shall not escape the wrath of the Sword of Hephaestus!" stepping in between her father and the servant of Ares, Sophitia took a deep breath, preparing for the terrible battle that was soon to come.

Astaroth chuckled mirthlessly, smirking derisively as he brought his immense, bloodied axe around from his shoulder to hold in both hands.

"Sophitia, please, he is not HUMAN! You cannot defeat him! Do not be a fool, damn you, daughter, as your father I'm ordering you to GO!" Achelous shouted, trying whatever means he could to get his daughter to flee, thoughts racing through his mind, ((Sophitia, please, just this once, listen to me, I could not bear for you to die here as well… you fool girl, don't you realize how worried we've been…))

"No, father. I shall show you what I have been doing while you claim I run off on fool quests for imaginary swords." Sophitia said coldly, dropping into a practiced combat stance. ((I did beat him before, but that was years ago when I was in practice… I hope the past few weeks of training with Siegfried were enough…)). "Come, Astaroth, let us finish what we began five years ago. You disgusting coward, you attack my people to draw me in? You do not deserve repentance, only DEATH!"

Astaroth laughed, a low, baritone rumble, speaking in a hideous, gravelly voice, "Hello, little girl. It has been… a long time. Where is he?" the massive demon queried, seeking the whereabouts of Sophitia's companion.

"Far out of YOUR reach!" Sophitia practically spat at the demon, ((I pray he is… there is no telling what Soul Edge might do if it encountered Astaroth at such close proximity.. Oh, Siegfried, please, do not come to my aid… for your own sake…)).

"It is no matter." Astaroth rumbled, "You will die, and he will come. Then, the sword will be mine. I have heard, and see, how close you have become to the weapon. Perhaps you are sneakier than I suspected… you plan to kill the boy, and take the blade?" Astaroth laughed, provoking the woman.

"NEVER!" Sophitia's voice rang clear in the morning air, "By Hephaestus, I will free that valiant young man from Soul Edge's clutches even if it costs me my own life!"

"And what of the lives of your friends, family… innocents? Will you sacrifice their lives as well?" Astaroth sneered, his disgusting voice rolling over the quiet square like the screams of a thousand tortured souls.

"I shall vanquish ANY who DARE threaten the lives of the innocent! I have had ENOUGH of your twisted chatter! DIE, DEVIL!" Sophitia screamed out in anger, charging forward to engage the massive monster before her.

((By Hephaestus, I have never seen her so full of wrath… is this truly my Sophitia… my little girl?)) Achelous thought to himself with awe, looking on, stunned, as his beautiful daughter leapt into battle with the hideous demon. Nike simply grit her teeth in pain, watching helplessly as her child engaged an incredible opponent thrice her size, wielding an axe as large as a barn support, in mortal combat.

Astaroth hauled his axe around, throwing his large body weight into in a huge slash, intending to cleave the small girl in twain before she could close the distance between them. Though arrogant and immensely strong, even Astaroth remembered how devastating the young woman could be when allowed to come within reach of her biting blade. Sophitia threw herself to the ground, rolling under the powerful strike, and whipped her sword across Astaroth's leg, drawing a line of dark red blood through his thick leather boot. Growling in pain and rage, Astaroth slammed the head of his axe onto the ground as Sophitia rolled aside, nearly crushed by the blow. Easily springing to her feet, Sophitia pressed the attack, chopping twice into the haft of Astaroth's axe as he raised it to fend off her assault. Dropping down to lunge, Sophitia flung her body forward, thrusting her blade in front of her as Astaroth twisted his body to the side, barely avoiding the attack. Coming up with his knee in her gut, the massive demon lifted Sophitia into the air, but the agile woman easily pushed her hands off of the wide expanse of Astaroth's leg, flipping backwards in the air to land squarely on her feet several meters away, unharmed. ((I can feel it!)) Sophitia thought to herself with elation, assessing her next attack. ((This is how it was, back then! I can feel my reflexes, I can see his moves! I remember… what it is to be a warrior!)).

Astaroth chuckled in his low, rumbling voice, "I thought you would have lost some skill, over the years since we last met, loafing around in this paltry village. Hmph.. Perhaps I was mistaken. However, your old skill will not win you this battle… my power has doubled since our last meeting." Grinning a wide, toothy grin, Astaroth flicked his huge axe to the side, sending a spray of blood from the blade onto a nearby wall, then clasped the weapon once again in both hands, eyeing his opponent eagerly, licking his lips in anticipation of her next attack.

Sophitia shuffled to the side, carefully attempting to gain a strategic position over the huge creature. ((Doubled? No… he must be lying, it is a trick, to demoralize me, and gain an advantage… it MUST be! Hephaestus, grant me the strength to fell this monstrous being!)) Darting forward, she feinted a lunge for Astaroth's head, quickly turning her attack into a cut for the beast's unarmored leg. The huge servant of Ares brought his axe around with a single hand, smashing the haft of the weapon across Sophitia's sword as the axe head slammed into the stones of the jeweler's shop protecting the young woman's flank. Pieces of stone flew everywhere, knocked apart by the immense, pick-like axe wielded by Astaroth. Sophitia ducked low as the demon hauled back his axe, swinging fast for her head, the entire upper half of the weapon smashing through a merchant's tent as it flew well beyond its intended mark. Instinctively acting upon the opportunity, Sophitia reflexively thrust for Astaroth's gut, cursing inwardly as her blade skipped off of the hard metal armor worn at the creature's waist. Whirling around and raising her shield just in time to block a massive blow from the butt end of the overly large axe, Sophitia stumbled backwards, nearly stunned from the force of the attack. The two warriors glared at each other, circling, seeking an opening, any opening, any provocation for another strike…

Feeling her limbs burn with inner fire, Sophitia felt all of her old skill return, there were no gaps, no questions, no doubts… only the adrenaline flowing through her veins, and the victory that lay at the end of the awful struggle…

"I would offer you surrender, but you are not worthy of an act of such mercy." Sophitia said coolly, keeping her eyes focused on Astaroth's great weapon.

"You are the one who should beg for mercy, little GIRL!" Astaroth shouted angrily, beginning to lose his battle calm to frustration, ((Why isn't this damned girl DYING? I should have easily crushed her by now!)). Bringing his axe behind and over his head, "I will DESTROY YOU, WORM!" the demon focused all of his soul energy and might into a single, devastating attack, orange and green flames spinning along the head of his humongous cleaver. "RAAAAAHHH!" Letting out an awful, horribly loud demonic growl, Astaroth lifted his foot, hauling his weapon into the sky with all of his power, bringing it down upon the slender, athletic woman who dared defy him.

Sophitia, seeing the attack coming and recognizing its deadliness, flung herself to the side, hitting the ground hard and rolling away, back on her feet in an instant. The huge, fiery axe slammed into the ground, erupting into flame and molten rock like a volcano bursting from the earth. A huge crack opened in the ground, creeping underneath the front wall of the jeweler's store, causing the entire structure to collapse in on itself in a cloud of dust, dirt and debris. Seething in rage from his failed strike, Astaroth heaved his weapon around, swinging it overhead as Sophitia backpedaled out of reach, the axe head crashing through two support beams for a nearby awning.

Achelous covered his head with his hands as the awning fell down, nearly striking him in the forehead, and he quickly scrambled back to position himself once again in front of his injured wife. ((I cannot believe… by Hephaestus, my daughter is still alive..! How can she fight such a creature…! Such skill… I had no idea!)).

Keeping her mouth shut, Nike quickly pushed aside the fallen cloth and wood from the awning, freeing up her hands so that she would have at least some chance of defending herself if the need arose. Attempting to put weight on her leg yielded poor results, for she felt the limb quickly collapse underneath her. Resigning to wait behind her courageous husband, and pray for her valorous daughter, Nike curled her leg underneath her and pushed herself as far back as possible against the building behind her.

((He HAS gotten stronger…)) Sophitia thought to herself, ((I'll need to be quick about this if I am to defeat him… I will not be able to withstand a prolonged fight…)). Holding up her guard in front of her, Sophitia darted forward in a mock attack, hoping to provoke the enraged Astaroth into striking out and losing his balance. The massive demon, approaching anger beyond reason, fell for the simple stratagem, sweeping his axe downwards in a crescent-shaped motion, howling like a spawn from the deepest pits of hell. Side-stepping the attack agilely, Sophitia swung with all her might, slamming her shield across the monstrosity's face, sending droplets of blood spewing from the demon's mouth across the ruined buildings nearby. Leveling her blade for the final, fatal strike, the warrior woman was momentarily distracted by a shape, flitting between buildings out of the corner of her eye. And there, another, ten meters up and to the right… ((Damn, assassins? Why did I not notice them earlier? There are at least two of them…)).

Using Sophitia's distraction to quickly recover from the stunning blow to his jaw, Astaroth brought the haft of his axe back around in a powerful sweep, intending to knock the smaller woman clean off of her feet and onto the sharp rock-strewn ground. Acting upon reflex alone, Sophitia crossed her blade behind her shield, holding them both up together just barely in time to block the huge beast's strike. The wooden haft of Astaroth's immense axe plowed into Sophitia's shield with a crashing noise of wood hitting metal, throwing the woman backwards several steps to slam into the side of a small stone building painfully. Head smacking back to against the rocks, Sophitia stumbled to the side, dizzy and reeling from the attack, trying desperately to keep her guard up.

Luckily, Astaroth was, by now, wary of the agile woman's skill, and kept several steps back, using his range to his advantage rather than closing with the woman and risking close-quarter devastation. Seething with rage, the huge demon spat blood onto the ground from his mangled mouth, "You will pay for that, human." Hauling his axe back into position, the demon glanced to the left and right, seeking any sign of his stealthy companions.

Their presence was quickly revealed by the scream emitted from Nike's mouth, as both hellish assassins converged from between the snaky alleys of the market square, scampering out directly in front of Sophitia's father Achelous.

"Mother!" Sophitia cried out, watching both demonic creatures advance on her parents with wickedly sharp falchions. Gritting her teeth in frustration, Sophitia watched helplessly, ((I cannot reach them without going through Astaroth! Hephaestus, please, help us!)), forgetting about the risk of Soul Edge consuming Siegfried's body as her parents lives hung by a thread, ((Siegfried…where are you? We need you!)) as Achelous hollered threats to the pair of deadly warriors,

"Stay back! I warn you, I will not take mercy on you!" As if bolstered by his daughter's words of earlier, Achelous found the courage to stand his ground, waving his dented pot menacingly at his opponents.

"And now what, little girl? Now you ALL die." Astaroth rumbled in his awful voice of iron and gravel, smirking an evil, twisted grin.

But then, suddenly, "Halt! In the name of Hephaestus, I challenge thee, devils!" A voice, somehow familiar, echoed through the market square, as the figure of a man wielding a blade and shield rounded the corner in a dead sprint, skidding to a stop between the assassins and Sophitia's parents. "I shall not allow you to take another step forward! Have at thee, villains!"

…

Elsewhere, two valiant souls were about to collide…

End chapter 8.

Who is this mysterious person who has shown up to give aid? Most of you probably already know who it is.

Oh well, originally I had this chapter and chapter 9 all as one big chapter, but I decided to split them in half because I felt like an 18 page chapter was a little too long for a fanfic. I hope you enjoyed it. That's why this one ends a little abruptly. Sorry about that. I might go and touch it up a bit later.


	9. A Warrior's Stand

And here we go, time to continue the 'return home' arc. I hope you enjoy reading.

Note: (()) denotes thoughts

Rushing through the forest, tripping, stumbling, but barely managing to retain her footing, Cassandra slashed thorns and branches aside as she followed the huge boot prints that adorned the soft, muddy ground. ((He has to be here, or… it, or whatever it is… I can't let it get to town…!)). Hoping, and praying, that her meager skills would be enough to vanquish the creature, or at least drive it off, Cassandra burst out from between a small copse of trees, coming upon a wooden footbridge that led over the sparkling stream she had crossed several moments earlier. Looking up, her eyes set upon a massive, ghastly armored figure… ((THERE! I've found him! Oh, Hephaestus, what if I can't beat him… NO, I can't think about that now, I have to attack!)).

"Sophitia?" the armored figure shouted out, sounding somehow confused. ((I thought… she went back to the town!)), Siegfried thought to himself, mistaking Cassandra for Sophitia at this distance due to their similar appearances.

"Stay away from my sister, you monster!" Cassandra shouted, hopping up onto the bridge, ((This is it! Here goes!)).

Siegfried stepped up onto the opposite side of the wood bridge, hauling up Soul Edge to rest it on his shoulder. "What are you… huh?" the tall warrior began, as Cassandra scampered towards him, coming down with a hard vertical clash for his shoulder. Reflexively slamming the large end of Soul Edge near the hilt into Cassandra's sword, Siegfried knocked the smaller woman off-balance, stepping back in surprise, "What the hell do you think you're-" suddenly realizing, ((Wait, this is not Sophitia… but, they look so similar?)). Feeling Soul Edge growl with hunger, pulsating violently in his arm, Siegfried shouted out desperately, "Fool, you're making a mistake!" ((No, if I fight without Sophitia here, I may not be able to hold back the blade…!)).

"No mistake, DEMON!" Cassandra shouted, stepping forward to swing a back-handed slash towards Siegfried's head. ((I can't think, I can't stop, the second I feel fear, I'm going to lose!)) Cassandra thought to herself in a near-panic, trying to hold onto her courage as she faced the vicious, armored warrior wielding an incredibly evil-looking sword before her, doing her best to save the town from its hideous wrath.

Ducking under the attack, Siegfried felt Soul Edge's power growing, its veins seeping into his own, clawing back from the depths of its hiding place, yearning for control, lusting for blood, for souls… Launching himself forward in a shoulder thrust, Siegfried slammed his body into Cassandra, knocking her off her feet to fall back onto the wood bridge, the young woman grunting in pain as she hit the hard planks. Rolling aside, Cassandra quickly scrambled to her feet, lashing out with her sword in a protective slash while regaining her footing.

Struggling to hold back the slimy demon blade, fear and pain racing through his mind, Siegfried failed to notice Cassandra's swing, as her blade cut across the deformed arm that held the Soul Edge. Crying out in glee, Soul Edge latched onto the physical pain that lanced through Siegfried's arm, using the moment to snatch control of the desperate warrior's already clouded mind.

((NO!)) Siegfried shouted internally from behind the mask of Nightmare, as his dark, disgustingly deformed counterpart hauled its heavy, two-handed sword around behind its head, preparing to cleave its young, female opponent in half. Somehow finding his voice within the swirls of madness in his mind, Siegfried shouted out, "GET OUT OF THE WAY!" As Nightmare brought Soul Edge down with deadly accuracy.

Surprised by the warning, Cassandra nonetheless took heed, diving to the side as the huge blade fell down upon the wooden footbridge, sending splinters of wood flying every which way. ((Why would he warn me? He must be toying with me! I have to hurry!)) Cassandra thought to herself, adrenaline racing through her veins. Lunging for the hulking form of Nightmare, the young woman sought to skewer the best while its blade lay flat, giving it no chance to retaliate or parry.

Nightmare, however, even for its size and girth, was far too quick, and easily whipped the Soul Edge up from the bridge, deflecting Cassandra's weapon with a loud clang. Grabbing the blade with both hands, Siegfried's deformed body brought Soul Edge down upon the woman in a brutal overhand strike. Raising her sword in panicked reflex, Cassandra tried vainly to stop the incoming weapon. Soul Edge met with Cassandra's old, battered sword, cleaving through the aged weapon, and descending towards the young woman's tender flesh as her eyes widened with shock and fear.

((I can't let this happen!)) Pushing with all his mental might, Siegfried barely managed to divert the weapon, as the huge, deformed Soul Edge swooshed just past Cassandra's left side, cutting into the now-battered footbridge underneath her. Soul Edge easily smashed through the damaged planks, collapsing the entire bridge and plunging both Cassandra and Nightmare into the stream below.

Losing her footing in the fall, Cassandra landed in the foot-deep water on her bottom with a loud splash, soaking her skirt and leggings in the cold water, ((I've… I've LOST! This is it! Oh, Sophitia, I'm so sorry! Mother, father, Lucius, please forgive me!)).

Crouching and easily maintaining his balance, Nightmare's armored feet crashed into the stream rocks underneath the brook, spraying water everywhere. Cackling with glee, Soul Edge lifted above Nightmare's head, ((I HAVE you, Siegfried! You have LOST! This body is MINE!)) taunting its host without care or mercy. As Soul Edge swung down towards Cassandra's head, the young lady shut her eyes, tensing her body to prepare for the awful pain and the end of her life that was about to come…

Just as the blade was about to cleave through the inexperienced warrior woman's skull, Sophitia's face flashed through Siegfried's mind, briefly replacing Cassandra's. Soul Edge stopped mid-swing, mere inches from the nose of its defeated opponent. ((They look SO similar…)) Siegfried found himself thinking once again, as memories of Sophitia flooded his mind, Sophitia helping him up from the ground, offering him a hand when none other would, lowering her weapon when threatened for her life, laughing, smiling, clumsily dropping things upon the ground… her movements, her attitude, her valiance, everything about her…

Soul Edge angrily battled with Siegfried's consciousness, hungrily trying to take control and consume the soul of Sophitia's young sister… but no, Siegfried would not budge, not to a monster such as this, not to destroy someone so close to the one he cared so much for. ((This is MY body. GET OUT!)) Siegfried screamed internally, adamantly holding the blade in place, viciously shoving Nightmare away from his soul, back into it his deformed, injured arm.

Control finally returning, Siegfried's mind quickly assessed the situation, still holding the hideous Soul Edge firmly in place. ((The tracks… she followed them here, thinking I was a demon… surely she knew of its presence, then… But I followed the tracks here too, from the other direction… where did the beast then go? It didn't just disappear, think, you bumbling imbecile, where the hell is it…)). As the water of the stream flowed past Nightmare's armor, swirling and eddying about to fill the cracks and seams of the metal, it suddenly dawned on Siegfried, so close, so obvious.

"The damned stream! It followed the stream! That's why it has no damned tracks! It must already be upon the village by now! Son of a bitch!" Siegfried cursed vehemently, wrenching back full control of his body, shouldering Soul Edge and pulling himself out of the stream. Taking off at full bore, the warrior's armor clanked and rumbled as it shook from the force of each footfall, Siegfried's legs rushing forward as fast as they could carry him, along the stream and straight towards the village market square.

…

Cassandra slowly opened her eyes, unsure of what had just happened. ((But I… I lost, didn't I? Why am I still alive? And… what was he saying? The stream? Why would he care about the stream…?)) Peering around, Cassandra barely saw the shape of the armored warrior flitting between several trees some distance away, rapidly moving away from her. ((Why was I … spared?)) Pushing herself to her feet shakily, rotating her wrist, which hurt like hell from Nightmare's sword-breaking strike, Cassandra fished around in the water, retrieving her broken blade.

((Should I… go after him?)) Looking at her shattered blade, Cassandra felt her heart sink, ((I failed… what's going to happen now…? Is everyone… is everyone going to die?)) The feeling of horror and dread still lay thick within her chest, though, strangely, it had not increased when she met with the hideously armored fighter. ((Well… I can't just stand here! I have to go after him, maybe I can do… something! At least I can distract him and let people escape!)) Shaking her head to clear it of thought, Cassandra hopped up onto the shore of the stream, breaking into a sprint, racing back towards the village square.

…

"Rothion?" Sophitia and Achelous both voiced in surprise simultaneously, as the young man wiped sweat from his brow, taking a low combat stance.

"I am sorry I did not arrive earlier. But, allow atone for my lack of manners by aiding you in battle!" Rothion shouted proudly, facing down his opponents with a steely gaze.

"Rothion! Thank heavens!" Sophitia called out, ((But Rothion cannot possibly have enough skill to face both assassins… if only Siegfried were here, he could defeat them… oh Rothion, please, do not get yourself hurt…)), "Please, be careful!"

"One more will make little difference. Especially one of such lowly skill." Astaroth smirked, "Go, kill them all!" He bellowed to the assassins. As if commanded entirely by the words of the huge demon, the smaller, but no less deadly warriors lunged forward, lashing their blades out towards the young man blocking their way.

Rothion reacted immediately, throwing out a practiced shield-punch to knock aside the first assassin's strike, while sweeping his hand-forged blade down to neatly parry the second attack, pressed backwards by the force of the blows. Ducking under a third sweeping slash, Rothion thrust his blade forward, tight-lipped as he battled his two superior opponents with vivacity and determination. His target easily twisted its lithe, agile body aside, avoiding the lunge and swiftly cutting across the blacksmith's arm with a nasty backswing, adorning the fallen awning with a splatter of blood.

Rothion cried out in pain, stumbling back as he clutched the bleeding wound.

"Rothion!" Sophitia shouted in worry, careful to keep her eyes on Astaroth as she tried to edge her away around the massive warrior, desperately seeking a way to aid her family. Astaroth, fully aware of his position of advantage, kept in Sophitia's way, grinning cruelly and holding his axe at the ready, prepared to lop off the annoying woman's head at a moment's notice.

Crouching low and ripping a brutal slice across Rothion's leg, the second assassin pressed the attack, sweeping its blade upwards for the wounded smith's neck. Rothion haphazardly swung out his sword, barely knocking the falchion aside with a noise like a hammer hitting a stubborn nail, stepping back once again, almost colliding with Sophitia's father.

"I… ungh.. I will never give in!" Rothion shouted boldly through grunts of pain, despite his horrid wounds, ((They are… too skilled! How can this be happening? We cannot all die here! Has Hephaestus abandoned us?)) .

"Stay away from my FAMILY!" Achelous suddenly hollered, rushing forward, pot handle clenched in a tight, white-knuckled grip. Taking a massive swing and completely blind-siding one of the assassins, Achelous's pot collided with the deadly creature's head, ringing like a summer bell as yet another dent appeared in the uneven bottom of the steel cooking implement. Springing from his hands like a rabbit escaping a hunter, the pot flipped through the air to land with a clang, tumbling along the roof of the market bakery before dropping into a nearby alleyway.

((Now is my chance!)) Rothion's heart raced as he whirled around, swinging his blade in a wide arc towards the stunned assassin's neck. Recovering almost immediately, the assassin rolled backwards, Rothion's blade slicing along its shoulder and drawing an oozing line of blood. The second assassin wasted no time, bringing its blade swiftly up into Rothion's stomach in a horrid, leveraged slash.

Grunting in agony, Rothion doubled over in pain, clutching his wounded torso as the cruel demon pulled back its blood-covered blade. Falling to his knees, Rothion's entire body shook with fatigue and pain, barely holding together after the numerous cuts and slices that had been torn across his well-muscled figure.

"By Hephaestus! ROTHION!" Sophitia screamed, rushing towards her hideously wounded fiancé, her thoughts awash with fear and worry, ((Oh please, do not die, PLEASE, Rothion, DO NOT DIE!))

Astaroth let out a satisfied growl, stepped in the way and lashing out with a brutal hack towards Sophitia's face. The warrior woman ducked the attack, dancing under the battered axe and quickly rising in between Astaroth and the pair of heartless assassins. Taking a half-second to glance at her downed fiancé, Sophitia felt a brief sense of relief, ((Not dead… if we get help, perhaps Rothion may have a chance…)) then, raising her eyes to assess the tactical situation, realized she had put herself in a very poor position, as her three blood-lusted opponents faced her from all sides, ((What can I do? I cannot possibly defeat all three of them, alone…Oh Siegfried, where are you!)).

Suddenly, the heads of the three demons swiveled around, all six eyes instantly drawn to a hideous, deformed sword…

"Is this what you were looking for?" Siegfried called out derisively, pushing aside a piece of broken rubble with his foot, stepping over a fallen merchant's tent to place himself within reach of the terrible battle. "Well here it is. Come and GET it." Siegfried held up Soul Edge before him, as the weapon pounded with excitement from the proximity to its demonic minions. ((Shut up.)) Siegfried mentally scorned the evil weapon, pulling upon his immense feeling of disgust to help maintain control of the pulsating blade.

"Siegfried! Thank Hephaestus! Come, let us finish these demonic hellspawn!" Sophitia shouted to her companion, feeling renewed courage from his presence, overjoyed beyond words to see the blonde warrior join the fray. ((My prayers are answered!)) Somehow, the fact that she had prayed to be aided by the wielder of Soul Edge did not even occur to her pure, incorruptible mind.

Seeing the injured form of Rothion lying near an older man and woman nearby, Siegfried's thoughts quickly assessed the situation, ((If that's who she called out to a few seconds ago, that must be Rothion. He looks badly injured... If he is important to her, I MUST protect him! He will give her a bright, future, filled with happiness, caring, love...one that she deserves! I can't let him die here!)) Stepping forward, speaking words vastly different from those of the blacksmith a few minutes earlier, "I'm going to rip your lungs out and eat them for breakfast, you goddamn twisted bastards! You damn cowards, can't beat her unless you attack three against one? You make me sick!"

((We can do this! With Siegfried here, we can win!)) Sophitia pulled up her weapon, turning to face Astaroth, trusting Siegfried completely with the two assassins. "What now, devil? Do you think you can beat the both of us?" Sophitia said coldly, advancing upon the massive demon.

Achelous, kneeling over the wounded Rothion, hurriedly pulled the injured blacksmith back towards Nike, "Please, help my daughter!" He shouted to Siegfried.

((Parents? They're trying to kill her parents, and her fiancé? Everything that she cares about? For WHAT?)) "For this SWORD? You'd destroy everything she cares about for this GOD DAMN PIECE OF METAL! I'll give you this worthless, sickening blade! Right in your damned SKULL!" Siegfried charged forward, heart pounding wildly with rage, spinning Soul Edge around in front of him like an immense bladed staff. The assassins darted towards the armored warrior, one trying to snake its slender falchion in between the swooping blade. Catching the weapon with his own, Siegfried's whirling sword flung the assassin's blade aside, easily ripping it from the demon's injured arm, knocking apart a piece of aged pottery that had been set out on a table before the battle. Continuing his enraged assault, Siegfried whirled his blade up, deflecting a low slash from the second assassin, spinning around and using the force of his momentum to deliver a massive slash to the disarmed demon. Scrambling out of the way, the assassin was not fast enough to avoid the full force of the attack, Siegfried's blade cleaving through its arm and severing it at the shoulder. The beast screamed out in a hellish howl, curling up against a piece of rubble and futilely clutching at the wound while it gushed blood all over the cobbles of the now devastated market square.

Astaroth, losing himself to a fiery rage upon hearing Sophitia's well-placed words, lowered his head, rushing forward in a bull-like charge, trying to bowl right over the lighter warrior woman who stood against him. Sophitia dropped to the ground, spinning to deliver a powerful sweep to Astaroth's legs. The stalwart warrioress' graceful maneuver clipped the humongous demon from his feet, pitching him forward to slam hard into the rocks and stones that littered the market proper. Growling and shoving himself up with both hands, Astaroth rolled over and up onto his knees, swinging his axe around low in an attempt to cleave off Sophitia's foot at the ankle. Springing up over the attack, Sophitia flipped in the air, letting her heel slam into the demon's nose as he attempted to rise. Leaping up again, Sophitia followed with a brutal kick to Astaroth's jaw, breaking the already mangled bones in several more places as she spun in the air to land soundly several meters away.

Achelous and Nike, desperately pressing torn clothes to Rothion's awful wounds, watched, dumbstruck, as their daughter and her unlikely companion battled the demons skillfully, fending off attack after attack, returning with brilliant maneuvers the likes of which Sophitia's parents had never seen.

Raising his blade to deflect another of the remaining assassin's assaults, Siegfried lifted his foot to slam his opponent in the stomach, momentarily knocking the wind out of it. Stepping in close, the strong warrior slammed his gauntleted fist into the assassin's jaw, snapping its head back and knocking it straight into the air, sending it sailing for a few feet before falling hard onto its back. Angrily repressing Soul Edge's lust for power, Siegfried hauled his mighty weapon overhead, leaping into the air and bringing the huge sword down with both hands, burying the razor-sharp blade in the skull of the reeling assassin, nearly splitting the creature in two.

"You wanted it? NOW YOU HAVE IT!" Siegfried shouted in rage, wrenching the weapon out of the bloodied heap that lay at his feet. Then, he heard the voice of yet another warrior, one inexperienced, yet well-intentioned, call out across the market…

…

"Sophitia?" Cassandra shouted in surprise, panting as she finally arrived in the market square, ((Sophitia is here? She's come back!)). As her gaze swept over the devastation of the market, Cassandra soon noticed the disfigured form of the armored warrior she fought only minutes ago, approaching her sister from the flank. "Sophitia, WATCH OUT, BEHIND YOU! It's a DEMON!"

…

Hearing the voice of her beloved little sister call out a warning, Sophitia quickly turned her head, watching as Siegfried hauled his blade from the mangled corpse of his foe. Realizing immediately what her sister must believe, Sophitia turned back to face Astaroth, stating once, clearly, "No. Siegfried is my friend." ((I have no time to explain… I need to take Astaroth down before he has time to recover…)).

"IT'S TIME TO DIE, LITTLE GIRL! YOUR SOUL IS MINE!" Astaroth bellowed in an awful, rumbling voice, pulling back his axe and tightening his muscles, preparing to sweep a massively powerful attack upwards to chop into Sophitia's tender, unprotected stomach.

((Yes, I recognize this, just like before… )) Sophitia thought to herself, her warrior reflexes pulling her body to the side, as she lowered her blade, focusing her soul energy in a single, masterful blow. Sword coursing with flames, Sophitia concentrated, ((I can do this! Just like I used to! Hephaestus, grant me strength!)).

Pulling his huge cleaver-like weapon through the air, Astaroth levered the blade upwards for Sophitia's exposed gut, just as the warrior-woman stepped forward, whipping her blade up in an fiery dazzle of soul energy. Astaroth's huge axe sliced across the smooth skin of Sophitia's supple leg, as the woman's astounding, flaming blade ripped up through the hideous demon's stomach, chest, and up through his gullet, nearly decapitating the horrendous creature. Grabbing her leg and stumbling back a step, Sophitia kept watch closely as Astaroth's huge body toppled to the ground, landing with a thunder of noise as rocks and metal were broken and flung aside by his immense girth.

Panting, trying to catch her breath, Sophitia stood over the fallen corpse of Astaroth, not quite believing what she had just done. ((I did it… I beat him! For good? Is he gone?)) Warily keeping one eye on the disgusting being, half-expecting it to rise at any second, Sophitia quickly surveyed the situation to be sure there were no more threats. ((Siegfried is unhurt… thank the heavens…oh, but, Rothion!)) Hurrying over to where her parents knelt over Rothion, Sophitia checked for signs of life in the young blacksmith. ((He's still alive…)) "Help! We need help, can anyone hear?" she shouted out lamely. ((How could they hear us, they've all fled or… or been killed… oh Rothion, please, don't die…)).

…

Siegfried stood over the corpse of the assassin, stunned. Shocked. Apalled. Incredulous, even. ((….. Friend? Did she call me… a friend? How could that… how could that be?)).

…

"Sophitia, are you hurt?" Cassandra called out to her sister, quickly scrambling over the debris of the market square, finally coming within view of Rothion. Gasping, Cassandra was momentarily paralyzed, seeing the severity of the blacksmith's wounds. "Is he…?"

"No, he's alive." Sophitia said, "But we must get him help, soon!"

"And… what about…?" Cassandra said, looking cautiously at Siegfried, who was standing still over the corpse of his fallen foe.

Sophitia shook her head, "No, Siegfried is my friend, he is no demon."

((There it is again..!)) Siegfried thought, ((She said it again… I couldn't have imagined it!)).

"But… his arm?" Cassandra said, looking down at the hideously deformed appendage that held the demonic Soul Edge, "It's hideous, it's evil, I can feel it!"

Barely glancing at Siegfried's arm, Sophitia stated calmly, "An obstacle we will conquer. That is all." And she looked up at Siegfried himself, smiling briefly, "You always come to my aid when I need it. Thank you, Siegfried."

Her smile sending shivers down his spine, Siegfried's rage towards the demons quickly vanished, replaced by a strange, fluttery feeling… like, nervousness, somehow…"Yeah, whatever. What kind of pathetic dog would I be if I didn't come?" Looking over at Cassandra, Soul Edge's wielder smirked crudely, "I would have been here earlier, but I got hung up."

"I guess… I owe you an apology." Cassandra said, looking at Siegfried sheepishly. "I thought… I thought you were someone… uh, something else. I'm… uh, my name is Cassandra, I'm Sophitia's-"

Just then, in mid-speech, the assassin with severed arm, who had gone unnoticed during the greater part of the battle, snatched up his weapon with his uninjured hand, lunging towards the unexpecting Siegfried.

"Beware!" Cassandra yelped, leaping forward to tackle the bloody assassin, pulling the demon to the ground. "Why don't you just die?" She shouted, grabbing the cruel killer by the head and pulling back, placing her broken blade to its throat. Pushing and scratching with its single good arm, the demon struggled and kicked futilely as Cassandra wrenched her blade across its neck, severing it from its mortal coil. Tossing the corpse aside, the disgusted woman rubbed blood from her hands off onto her leggings, "Oh, gross…" looking around to see the surprised expressions of her friends and family.

Siegfried offered no more than a rude grunt as a thank you, his attention quickly turning to Rothion's badly injured body. "Talk later. Right now, we have to take care of your fiancé. Where can we bandage him? I'll carry him." The large warrior slung his massive blade over his shoulder, kneeling down beside Rothion's broken form.

"I can… I can walk…" Rothion murmured defiantly.

"No, you can't. Let him carry you." Sophitia said sharply, ((Don't be stubborn… I get enough of that with Siegfried…)).

Looking at the fallen blacksmith, Siegfried felt something tug inside him… something familiar, somehow. Some sort of… mutual pride. The pride of a man who was willing to give everything to save those he cared about. "Here. I'll help." Siegfried grunted gruffly, offering Rothion his natural arm, the arm untouched by the deformity of Soul Edge.

"But… Siegfried, he's too injured-!" Sophitia began, but was quickly cut off by Siegfried,

"No, he's strong. This will be faster." Siegfried said, as Rothion climbed to his feet, leaning against Siegfried.

"He's right, Sophitia. Do not fear, I will live. I assure you." Rothion said, smirking slightly.

"Very well…! So stubborn!" Sophitia said, annoyed with the two, but, at the same time, feeling immensely proud of Siegfried for all the aid he was offering. ((He is so kind at heart, even if he's terrible at showing it… so clumsy, but so innocent.))

"I'm going to see if anyone else needs help!" Cassandra said, bounding over a piece of rubble to scour the rest of the market for injured victims of Astaroth's heartless assault.

Sophitia nodded, "Right, I'll check over here." Tying a piece of canvas around her leg to staunch the bleeding, she began to limp to the south section of the market.

"No." Siegfried said angrily, ((Why must she always run off while injured? Does she want to make things difficult for me?)), "You will come with me. You," nodding rudely to Achelous, "Will bring her," nodding to Nike, "with us, then you'll go back and look for injured," Siegfried stated flatly, leaving no room for argument.

"Of… of course." Achelous said, reaching down to give his wife a hand up.

"How… how DARE…" Sophitia began, then, shaking her head, ((No, he's right, we need to take care of our own wounds or else we won't be able to help those who need us.)) "Yes, of course. You are correct."

"I know." Siegfried rolled his eyes, ((Fools…)).

Sophitia smiled inwardly, despite herself, ((He is so rude… why do I like it so much?)) as the five of them limped back towards Sophitia's house, seeking a place where they could take refuge and repair their wounds. ((We did it… thank Hephaestus, together, we did it… we protected them…))

….

((She called me friend... I am… I am Sophitia's friend…)) Siegfried thought to himself as he helped his only friend's fiancé to shelter, feeling happier than he had in a very, very long time…perhaps… happier than he had ever felt in his entire life.

End chapter 9.

Ha, how many of you thought I was going to kill Rothion? Eh, eh? No way, what a cop out. I have much more interesting plans for the Rothion/Siegfried/Sophitia conflict, which I'm probably going to solve somewhere in the next few chapters.

Lots of fighting this chapter and chapter 8, next one will be much more peaceful, as they rest in the village for a bit. It'll be a nice break. Hopefully I'll have time to write it up soon.

Author's note: This is not to say that I believe Cassandra is a poor character in game, I think she's a great character, but I am trying to be more realistic in this fanfic in terms of skill creep. Cassandra, this being her first real adventure outside of town, would be nowhere near the skill of Sophitia or Siegfried, who had been through entirety of Soul Blade and Soul Calibur by now. Cassandra is still certainly very skilled for her level of training, but she has nowhere near the experience of some of the other warriors, and I don't want to ignore that fact in this fic.


End file.
